Carabus olympiae

Carabus olympiae
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 2.3) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Clade:	Pancrustacea
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Adephaga
Family:	Carabidae
Genus:	Carabus
Subgenus:	Chrysocarabus
Species:	C. olympiae
Binomial name
Carabus olympiae Sella, 1855

Carabus olympiae is a species of beetle in the family Carabidae, that can be found in France and Italy. ^[2] It is considered to be vulnerable on the IUCN scale. ^[1]

The species is among the largest European species: its length ranges from 3 to 4 cm.

It has a metallic emerald green livery with iridescent and bluish reflections, sometimes with red shades.

This species is not able to fly due to its reduced wing length.

Distribution

C. olympiae is a stenoendemic species whose restricted range lies almost entirely within the Val Sessera, in the Biellese Alps of Piedmont, northern Italy. ^[3] It was first collected near Bocchetto Sessera in the summer of 1854 by Olimpia Sella, after whom it is named, and was described by Sella in 1855. ^{[4] [3]}

Conservation

The species came close to extinction in the 1990s because of excessive collecting. ^[4] Between 2012 and 2015 the EU-funded LIFE Carabus project (LIFE11 NAT/IT/000213) worked to define forest management practices in the upper Val Sessera that would increase and spread its population. ^{[3] [4]} The beetle is the emblem of the Oasi Zegna nature park. ^[4]

References

1. World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1996). "Carabus olympiae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 1996 e.T3846A10114589. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T3846A10114589.en . Retrieved 16 November 2021.
2. "Carabus (Chrysocarabus) olympiae Sella, 1855". 2.6.2. Fauna Europaea. August 29, 2013. Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
3. Negro, M.; Bisio, L.; Allegro, G. (2020). "I Coleotteri Carabidi della Val Sessera (Alpi Pennine) (Coleoptera Carabidae)" (PDF). Rivista piemontese di Storia naturale (in Italian). 41: 105–137.
4. "Nature park in Piemonte: the LIFE project". Oasi Zegna. Retrieved 24 October 2026.