Violet ground beetle
Carabus violaceus Linnaeus, 1758
Status not recordedbeetles
The violet ground beetle (Carabus violaceus) is a species in the family Carabidae, order Coleoptera. Recorded adults reach 3.3 cm in length. Source checklists list it for 24 countries, including Albania, Austria and Belarus.
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Quick facts about the violet ground beetle
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- 2.2 cm – 3.3 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Active
- Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- 24 countriessrc for Countries on record
How big is the violet ground beetle?
What does the violet ground beetle eat, and what eats it?
Species recorded in published studies and collections.
Recorded prey of the violet ground beetle
2 on record
- Greater bulb-fly Merodon equestris2 sources
- Devil's Coach horse Ocypus olens2 sources
Recorded predators of the violet ground beetle
1 on record
- Greater mouse-eared bat Myotis myotis4 sources
Each pair is recorded by at least two independent datasets. A record shows the animal was seen or found to have eaten the other, including scavenged carcasses and young animals; it does not say how often. Compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (CC0 1.0).
References for these records
- https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/88440177
- Poelen, J. H. Global Biotic Interactions: Interpreted Data Products. Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5708970 (2021).
- https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/32936587
- Reji Chacko, M., Albouy, C., Altermatt, F., Brändle, M., Casanelles Abella, J., Boussange, V., Campell, F., Ellis, W. N., Fopp, F., Gossner, M. M., Ho., H., Joss, A., Kipf, P., Neff, F., Petrović, A., Prié, V., Tomanović, Ž., Zimmerli, N., Pellissier, L. (2024). trophiCH v1 - a food web for Switzerl
- Geiselman, C. K., & Ember, S. (2020). Bat Eco-Interactions Database. www.batbase.org, version (28.06.2023)
- Jaskula, R. & J. Hejduk. 2005. Carabidae (Coleoptera) in the diet of a greater mouse-eared bat Myotis myotis (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae). In: Protection of Coleoptera in the Baltic Sea Region (J. Sklodowski, et al, eds.). pp. 197-204. Warsaw Agricultural University Press, Warsaw, Poland.
Where does the violet ground beetle live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The violet ground beetle is listed for 24 countries.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
- Albania
- Austria
- Belarus
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Poland
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Ukraine
Why a country list is not a range map
Listed by: CarabCat (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
Is the violet ground beetle endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the violet ground beetle classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumArthropoda
- classInsecta
- orderColeoptera
- familyCarabidae
- genusCarabus
- SpeciesCarabus violaceus Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Carabus violaceus rilvensis, Megodontus violaceus, Pachycranion violaceus, Procrustes violaceus
Other names and names in other languages (18)
- střevlík fialovýCzech
- ViolløberDanish
- Forlænget løberDanish
- Violetrandet løberDanish
- Violettrandiger LaufkäferGerman
- GoldleisteGerman
- sinikiitäjäinenFinnish
- Carabe violetFrench
- Carabe à bordure violetteFrench
- Keleti kékfutrinkaHungarian
- fiolett jordløperNorwegian Bokmål
- Paarse loopkeverDutch
- Violette loopkeverDutch
- Biegacz fioletowyPolish
- Жужелица фиолетоваяRussian
- alitáhceseadniNorthern Sami
- purpurlöpareSwedish
- violett jordlöpareSwedish
Relatives of the violet ground beetle
Other species in the same genus Carabus.
Bronze carabid
Carabus nemoralis
Blue ground beetle
Carabus intricatus
Granulated ground beetle
Carabus granulatus
Carabid beetle
Carabus olympiae
Rough violet ground beetle
Carabus problematicus
Smooth ground beetle
Carabus glabratus
CompareViolet ground beetle vs Bronze carabidViolet ground beetle vs Blue ground beetleViolet ground beetle vs Granulated ground beetleViolet ground beetle vs Carabid beetle
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the violet ground beetle?
An adult violet ground beetle measures 2.2 cm – 3.3 cm long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Where does the violet ground beetle live?
Catalogue of Life checklists list the violet ground beetle for 24 countries, including Albania, Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria and Croatia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.
What kind of animal is the violet ground beetle?
The violet ground beetle (Carabus violaceus) belongs to the family Carabidae in the order Coleoptera.
What eats the violet ground beetle?
Animals recorded preying on the violet ground beetle include greater mouse-eared bat. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.
Which animals does the violet ground beetle eat?
Animals recorded as prey of the violet ground beetle include greater bulb-fly and devil's coach horse. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Global Biotic Interactions (GloBI): interpreted data products · CC0 1.0 · 0.11
Poelen, J.H., Simons, J.D. & Mungall, C.J. (2014) Global Biotic Interactions: an open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics 24: 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2014.08.005. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22691479, with each record's original reference. - TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe · CC BY 4.0 · 2.0
Chauvier, Y., Adde, A., Bergamini, A. et al. (2025) TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Violet ground beetle (Carabus violaceus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/violet-ground-beetle
“Violet ground beetle (Carabus violaceus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/violet-ground-beetle.
@misc{violet_ground_beetle_2026,
title = {Violet ground beetle (Carabus violaceus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/violet-ground-beetle},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}