General description
Taken from the discipline of integrated pest management. Adults are active at night and tend to hide under rocks during the day. They will run when exposed. They come out at night to feed o unsuspecting insects. Likely targets include caterpillars, root maggots, snails, and other soft bodied insects. The fiery searcher, a very brilliantly colored ground beetle, was imported to assist in the control of gypsy moth larvae Most species do not use their wings, but a few may fly to lights at night. One group of ground beetles, called bombadier beetles, have an interesting defensive mechanism. When threatened, they raise the end of their body and fire a chemical gas with popping sound and smokelike puffs. The gas is irritating to enemies such as toads and would-be collectors. Ground beetle larvae, like adults, are important predators. The larvae live below ground, where they use their large pincher-like mandibles to devour soil-dwelling insects
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