Adult: 20mm.

Order Coleoptera / Family Carabidae – Predaceous Ground Beetles

Distributed in the sandy riparian and salt marshes of coastal areas and Imperial Valley. Among the caterpillar hunters of other parts of the U.S. there are some very colorful and iridescent species like the Firey Searcher, Calosoma scrutator, but those found in Southern California are mostly black. The strial punctures of the elytra of  C. cancellatum are metallic green. Calosoma semilaeve, which is all black, is often seen climbing plants in search of caterpillars, but C. cancellatum apparently stays on the ground to hunt cutworms. The large larvae of the caterpillar hunters are heavily armored and conceal themselves in leaf litter under plants during the day and feed as the adults.