Those Pesky Little Beetles

 For the past couple of moths a small black beetle has been present in "plague" proportions. It is a Predaceous Ground Beetle, family Carabidae. Not wanting to peerpetuate an incorrect identification, I cannot precisely identify it.

The beetle ia active at night and is attracted to lights. It has been common in Kuranda and was all over the place in Mareeba a week or so ago. It was present in restaurants and even in the eye doctor's offices. 

Carabids feed on other insects. They spend most of their time on the ground, in left litter or in rotting logs where they encounter many kninds of insect prey. Every so often, populations build up and we see the beetles everywhere. Within a few weeks they will disappear and we might not see them for a few years. This has happened with other insects in the past. (See: https://bunyipco.blogspot.com/search?q=pygmy+grasshoppers)