Calosoma

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Genus of beetles

title: "Calosoma" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["calosoma", "carabidae-genera", "insects-used-as-insect-pest-control-agents"] description: "Genus of beetles" topic_path: "general/calosoma" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calosoma" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of beetles ::

| image = Calosoma.sycophanta.-.calwer.04.09.jpg | image_caption = Calosoma sycophanta | taxon = Calosoma | authority = Weber, 1801 | subdivision_ranks = Subgenera | subdivision = : Blaptosoma Gehin, 1876 : Callisphaena Motschulsky, 1859 : Callistenia Lapouge, 1929 : Callisthenes Fischer von Waldheim, 1820 : Callitropa Motschulsky, 1866 : Calopachys Haury, 1880 : Calosoma Weber, 1801 : Caminara Motschulsky, 1866 : Campalita Motschulsky, 1866 : Carabomimus Kolbe, 1895 : Carabomorphus Kolbe, 1895 : Carabophanus Kolbe, 1895 : Carabops Jakobson, 1900 : Carabosoma Géhin, 1885 : Castrida Motschulsky, 1866 : Charmosta Motschulsky, 1866 : Chrysostigma Kirby, 1837 : Ctenosta Motschulsky, 1866 : Elgonorites Jeannel, 1940 : Microcallisthenes Apfelbeck, 1918 : Neocalosoma Breuning, 1927 : Orinodromus Kolbe, 1895 : Teratexis Semenov & Znojko, 1933 | synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true | Callisoma Agassiz, 1846 (Unj. Emend.) | Calamata Motschulsky, 1865 | Callistriga Motschulsky, 1865 | Callipara Motschulsky, 1866 | Callistrata Motschulsky, 1866 | Camedula Motschulsky, 1866 | Calodrepa Motschulsky, 1866 | Campolyta Motschulsky, 1866 | Cosmoplata Motschulsky, 1866 | Eutelodontum Gehin, 1881 | Aulacopterum Gehin, 1885 | Tapinosthenes Kolbe, 1895 | Calister Reitter, 1896 | Acamegonia Lapouge, 1924 | Camegonia Lapouge, 1924 | Isostenia Lapouge, 1929 | Microcalosoma Breuning, 1927 | Paracalosoma Breuning, 1927 | Syncalosoma Breuning, 1927 | Acampalita Lapouge, 1929 | Australodrepa Lapouge, 1929 | Catasoma Lapouge, 1929 | Catastriga Lapouge, 1929 | Eremosoma Lapouge, 1929 | Lyperostenia Lapouge, 1929 | Paratropa Lapouge, 1929 | Acalosoma Lafer, 1989/1990}} ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Calosoma_planicolle_Chaudoir,1869(3586591230)_(2).jpg" caption="''Calosoma planicolle''"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Calosoma_senegalense_Dejean,1831(3887607030).jpg" caption="''Calosoma senegalense''"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Calosoma_scrutator_by_Alejandro_Santillana_"Insects_Unlocked"_Project.jpg" caption="''Calosoma scrutator'' by Alejandro Santillana "Insects Unlocked" Project, University of Texas at Austin"] ::

Calosoma is a genus of large ground beetles that occur primarily throughout the Northern Hemisphere, and are referred to as caterpillar hunters or caterpillar searchers. Many of the 167 species are largely or entirely black, but some have bright metallic coloration. They produce a foul-smelling spray from glands near the tip of the abdomen. They are recognizable due to their large thorax, which is almost the size of their abdomen and much wider than their head.

Calosoma has about 20 subgenera, including some former genera such as Callisthenes.

History

In 1905, Calosoma sycophanta was imported to New England for control of the spongy moth. The species is a voracious consumer of caterpillars during both its larval stage and as an adult, as are other species in the genus. For this reason, they are generally considered beneficial insects. Several species of this beetle, most notably the black calosoma (Calosoma semilaeve) are especially common in the California area.

References

References

  1. Powell & Hogue (1979), California Insects. p. 262.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

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