Carabus intricatus
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Carabus intricatus, the blue ground beetle, is a species of ground beetle found in Europe. It is a large beetle (24–35 millimetres or 0.9–1.4 inches in length), with a metallic purple or blue and roughly surfaced elytra; the second pair of wings (which are used by beetles for flying) under the elytra are reduced. In Britain it was only recorded three times in the twenty years up to 1993 and was considered extinct there. But in 1994 it was found in a couple of places near Dartmoor.
Carabus intricatus are nocturnal carnivores that are mainly active in the spring and early summer. Tests have shown they prefer slugs from the genus Limax, especially Limax marginatus. They were also found to have a taste for liver, dog food, and crabsticks.
In the wild, the adults are found under bark on dead wood, and under rocks. It does not require ground vegetation, and likes damp, rotten, moss-covered wood. The beetles seem to be active throughout the year and a fully-grown larva has been found in summer. This specimen also ate slugs prior to pupating, and emerged as an adult some three weeks later. It is thought that it may take two years to complete its life cycle. The adults are very long-lived. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 2 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Blue Ground Beetle sighting in Cévennes National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 814th most-seen of the 996 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March–April and August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Blue Ground Beetle in Cévennes National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–July and September–February, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue Ground Beetle sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Blue Ground Beetle sightings, Cévennes National Park ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Białowieża National Park (Poland, about 20%), Bavarian Forest National Park (Germany, about 20%) and Vanoise National Park (France, about 10%).
Same genus: Carabus
The closest relatives of the Blue Ground Beetle that you can see in Cévennes National Park (genus Carabus, Worm and Slug Hunters) are Carabus hispanus (about 30%), Carabus purpurascens (about 10%) and Bronze Ground Beetle (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Blue Ground Beetle is recorded against all the insects logged in Cévennes National Park (6 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
