Scaphinotus viduus, the bereft snail-eating beetle, is a species of ground beetles in the family Carabidae. It is found in North America (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Georgia, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Vermont, West Virginia), where it inhabits coniferous forests, usually in areas close to water.
Adults are brachypterous, gregarious and nocturnal. They prey on snails, slugs and caterpillars.
References
- Bousquet, Yves (2012). "Catalogue of Geadephaga (Coleoptera, Adephaga) of America, north of Mexico". ZooKeys, issue 245, 1âÂÂ1722.
- Erwin, Terry L. (2007). A Treatise on the Western Hemisphere Caraboidea (Coleoptera): Their classification, distributions, and ways of life. Volume I. Trachypachidae, Carabidae - Nebriiformes 1, 323 + 22 plates.
Further reading
- NCBI Taxonomy Browser, Scaphinotus viduus
- Arnett, R.H. Jr., and M. C. Thomas. (eds.). (2000). American Beetles, Volume I: Archostemata, Myxophaga, Adephaga, Polyphaga: Staphyliniformia. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, FL.
- Richard E. White. (1983). Peterson Field Guides: Beetles. Houghton Mifflin Company.