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Glite Dictionary
🐞 A ground beetle 🐞 About beetles
carabid

carabid

1 9.6
A ground beetle that lives on the soil surface and often eats other insects
  • noun
  • /ˈkɛrəˌbɪd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : escarabajo carábido
  • During our nocturnal prowls, we noticed hundreds of carabid beetles, which are known for their predatory habits.
  • carabid beetle

Examples

  • The carabid crawled across the forest floor.

  • Farmers appreciate the presence of carabids because they help control pest insects.

  • The scientist collected several carabids from the leaf litter for her research.

  • A shiny black carabid darted under a rock as we approached.

  • Many carabids are known for their predatory behavior.

  • The carabid beetle is a fierce predator, often seen hunting for soft-bodied insects on the forest floor.

  • Soldier and carabid beetles emerge after dark to feast upon the eggs of pests like Colorado potato beetles.

Synonyms

ground beetle
vscarabid
1 4.5

A shiny black or metallic beetle that lives on the ground and eats harmful insects

is a scientific family term that specifies this common predatory beetle
carabid beetle
vscarabid
8.4

A ground beetle usually black or shiny that eats other insects and helps control pests

is the scientific family name for the same predatory soil beetle

Compounds

carabid beetle
8.4

A ground beetle usually black or shiny that eats other insects and helps control pests

Surface Forms

carabid singular
carabids plural

Morphology

carabid = Carabidae (opaque) = carab + id

Formed from the taxonomic name 'Carabidae' with the taxonomic suffix '-id'; the relation is specialized and not transparently meaningful to learners.

Etymology

A carabid is a ground beetle, and the name comes from the family Carabidae used by scientists, from Greek karabos meaning 'beetle' or 'crab'. So calling an insect a carabid literally names it as a beetle of that family, often one that lives on the soil and hunts other insects.