General
Violet ground beetles can normally be found in gardens, wetland, freshwater, woods, farms and meadows underneath rocks, leaves and logs although they favour woodlands better. They usually are seen from March to October and can often be found resting during the day. These beetles are black with a metallic purple shine, most noticeable around the flat edges of its wing cases. Violet ground beetles come out at night and hunt slugs and other insects that farmers classify as pests.
Lifecycle
The adult females lay their eggs in soil and, when the larvae hatch, the become predators to the pests as well. The eggs are laid alone or in a group, laid in soil and leaves, the hatch in 1-2 weeks, the larvae (eggs) develop through winter then in the spring, mature under the soil, leaves and bark, the eventually emerge after 2 or 3 weeks, during April and May.
There are hundreds of ground beetles species in the UK, which can be found in almost any of the habitats listed above. Violet ground beetles have smooth wings. Violet ground beetles are nocturnal and feast on smaller invertebrates (animals without backbones).
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