Kentucky Entomology Ground beetles make up one of the largest groups of beetles in North America, with more than 2200 species. Another characteristic common to ground beetles is a smaller head than thorax, and threadlike antennae.
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.