Common carabid beetle

Carabid beetles feed mostly on ground-dwelling pests. Larvae and adults are predatory and have prominent mouthparts that protrude forward. Adults are a medium sized shiny black beetle, approximately 20 - 25 mm long. They have a characteristic flattened 'hot-water-bottle'- shaped body and large bulging eyes on the sides of the head. They are flightless nocturnal beetles. Carabid beetles eat a wide range of soft-bodied prey such as caterpillars, aphids, wireworms, earwigs and slugs.