Sunday, 5 August 2012
During a rare dry spell we did some gardening this afternoon. There were a lot of butterflies around (Gatekeepers, Small Tortoiseshells, and Ringlets) but there was also a beetle.Now I'm not very good at identifying beetles, but I thought given the iridescent purple strip down either side of it's body and the iridescent blue markings on it's head that for once I would have no problem finding out what it was. Unfortunately I can't seem to identify it from any of the books we own or the internet.
Anyone have any ideas what it is?
It's a Violet Ground beetle (Carabus violaceus).
On the whole unless they really stand out I've given up trying to identify beetles. Fortunately in NZ there are lots which stand out and a few that are not strictly beetles but are as large as a small bird. And they fly!
Excellent, that should be fairly easy to remember for the future. Also I don't feel too stupid as I've just checked and it isn't in the book I used to try and identify it.
(note to self, must try and get threaded comments working on this blog, would make replying so much easier)
John is correct. Look here http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/species/violet-ground-beetle.
Oooh, I like that website, thanks! The UK Moths website is fantastic for figuring out if an identification is correct but clearly, given it's name, it doesn't extend to beetles or other insects.
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