Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Carabidae Rank Species | Phylum Arthropoda Order Coleoptera Subfamily Licininae | |
 | ||
Similar Epomis, Epomis dejeani, Chlaenius festivus, Chlaenius nigricornis, Chlaenius spoliatus | ||
Beetle epomis circumscriptus attacking and preying upon treefrog hyla savignyi
Epomis circumscriptus is a species of ground beetle native to the Palearctic, the Near East, and North Africa. It is known from Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Egypt, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
Adult beetles are metallic blue with violet luster, with a striking yellow-orange rim on the elytra and mostly yellow-colored legs and antennae. They are 18-22.5 millimeters in length.
The larvae reach a body length of up to 20 millimeters, they are white or yellow colored, with black and orange markings. Like many ground beetle larvae they are elongated with two extensions (Urogomphi) at the rear end. They have characteristic double-hooked mandibles. The larvae feed exclusively on amphibians, which they lure by making prey-like movements. The adult beetles are generalist predators, but can also feed on amphibians much larger than themselves.