These assessment fees will be used to pay for insecticide, application, and labor costs of the fall diapause program. Also, it is unusual to encounter high populations of bollworms in cotton at this time, because they tend to be more attracted to corn. There are many different species of ground beetles that may be found in cotton fields and in other row crops. Although these beetles are common, they often are not recognized as predators. One reason for this is that they tend to be more active at night and hide under crop debris and in cracks in the soil during the day.
Most species have relatively long life cycles and complete only one or two generations per year.
Adults of some species may live several years. For this reason their populations are slow to rebound if disrupted by insecticides. The adults are long legged, quick moving beetles that have broad, hard wing covers. The head is narrower than the thorax and the mandibles are strong and easily seen. Some of the caterpillar hunters are metallic green or blue in color, but most species of ground beetles are drably colored.