The great thing about old rotten logs on the ground is that you never know what you are going to find under them! I do not know about you, but I for one can not resist lifting that old log up and discovering the secrets it hides. Now, being October, there are fewer invertebrates lingering around but I was pleased to find this wonderful little chap. He is a Violet Ground Beetle, Carabus violaceus a large and fast predator who loves woodlands and has a particular taste for slugs. Easy to identify because of his size and a metallic violet sheen around the outline of his body. Mainly nocturnal and unable to fly, this insect is something to be worried about if you were another invertebrate living under that log! Its larva too are predatory and equipped with some seriously powerful jaws. Great stuff!
The jaws of a Ground Beetle are toothed, frighten him and he will give you a nip!
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