Western, central and eastern Europe, mainly in cool and humid woodland and mountain regions.
Fine-art photographic collection
Carabus (Chrysocarabus) auronitens
A forest predator whose larvae climb trees before transforming.
About this species
Carabus (Chrysocarabus) auronitensFabricius, 1792
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Carabus auronitens is a large, flightless ground beetle of cool forests. Both adults and larvae are predators, but the larva performs an unexpected vertical migration before pupation.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Coleoptera · Carabidae · Carabus
The gallery uses Chrysocarabus auronitens. GBIF/Catalogue of Life accepts Carabus (Chrysocarabus) auronitens Fabricius, 1792. · checked 2026-07-15
Central and western EuropeBroad documented range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
What makes this species remarkable?
A mature larva can climb several metres up a tree before pupating, an extraordinary journey for an animal usually described as a ground beetle.
Adults overwinter beneath loose bark or inside dead wood and emerge to hunt snails, worms and insects at night.
The beetle cannot escape by flight; survival depends on long legs, powerful jaws and concealed forest refuges used repeatedly across seasons.