Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan family of beetles, the Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, around 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 in Europe. As of 2015, it is one of the 10 most species-rich animal families. They belong to the Adephaga. Members of the family are primarily carnivorous, but some members are phytophagous or omnivorous.
The soldier beetles (Cantharidae) are relatively soft-bodied, straight-sided beetles. They are cosmopolitan in distribution. One of the first described species has a color pattern reminiscent of the red coats of early British soldiers, hence the common name. They are also known commonly as leatherwings because of their soft elytra.
Harpalinae is a subfamily of ground beetles that contains more than 3,000 species in 4 tribes worldwide, according to the Carabcat Database. A rarely used common name for the subfamily is the harp beetles. The Harpalinae contain the most apomorphic ground beetles, displaying a wide range of forms and behaviors. Some are, rare among ground beetles, omnivores or even herbivores.
The bean weevils or seed beetles are a subfamily (Bruchinae) of beetles, now placed in the family Chrysomelidae, though they have historically been treated as a separate family. They are granivores, and typically infest various kinds of seeds or beans, living most of their lives inside a single seed. The subfamily includes about 1,650 species and are found worldwide.
The Trachypachidae are a family of beetles that generally resemble small ground beetles, but that are distinguished by the large coxae of their rearmost legs. There are only six known extant species in the family, with four species of Trachypachus found in northern Eurasia and northern North America, and two species of Systolosoma in Chile and Argentina. They were much more diverse in the past, with dozens of described species from the Mesozoic.
The beetle subfamily Curculioninae is part of the weevil family Curculionidae. It contains over 23,500 described species in 2,200 genera, and is therefore the largest weevil subfamily. Given that the beetle order (Coleoptera) contains about one-quarter of all known organisms, the Curculioninae represent one of the – if not the – most successful radiations of terrestrial Metazoa.
Belidae is a family of weevils, called belids or primitive weevils because they have straight antennae, unlike the "true weevils" or Curculionidae which have geniculate (elbowed) antennae. They are sometimes known as "cycad weevils", but this properly refers to a few species from the genera Parallocorynus and Rhopalotria.
Ochodaeidae, also known as the sand-loving scarab beetles, is a small family of scarabaeiform beetles occurring in many parts of the world.
Aphodiinae is a subfamily of the scarab beetle family, Scarabaeidae. Members of this subfamily are known commonly as the small dung beetles and many, but not all, are dung beetles. These beetles are found worldwide.
The Eumolpinae are a subfamily of the leaf beetles, or Chrysomelidae. It is one of the largest subfamilies of leaf beetles, including more than 500 genera and 7000 species. They are oval, and convex in form, and measure up to 10 mm in size. Typical coloration for this subfamily of beetles ranges from bright yellow to dark red. Many species are iridescent or brilliantly metallic blue or green in appearance.
The Cassidinae are a subfamily of the leaf beetles, or Chrysomelidae. The antennae arise close to each other and some members have the pronotal and elytral edges extended to the side and covering the legs so as to give them the common name of tortoise beetles. Some members, such as in the tribe Hispini, are notable for the spiny outgrowths to the pronotum and elytra.
Melolonthinae is a subfamily of the scarab beetles. It is a very diverse group; distributed over most of the world, it contains over 11,000 species in over 750 genera. Some authors include the scarab subfamilies Euchirinae and Pachypodinae as tribes in the Melolonthinae.
Agyrtidae, or primitive carrion beetles, are a small family of beetles belonging to Staphylinoidea. They are found in mostly temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere and in New Zealand.
Ant nest beetles or paussines, some members of which are known also as flanged bombardier beetles, are a large subfamily within the ground beetles (Carabidae).The tribes Metriini, Ozaenini, Paussini and Protopaussini are included in the subfamily.
Silvanidae, "silvan flat bark beetles", is a family of beetles in the superfamily Cucujoidea, consisting of 68 described genera and about 500 described species. The family is represented on all continents except Antarctica, and is most diverse at both the generic and species levels in the Old World tropics.
Carabinae is a subfamily of ground beetles in the family Carabidae. There are about 10 genera and more than 1,400 described species in Carabinae.
Lebiinae is a subfamily of ground beetles in the family Carabidae. There are more than 330 genera and 6,300 described species in Lebiinae, in 5 tribes.
Pterostichinae is a subfamily of ground beetles. It belongs to the advanced harpaline assemblage, and if these are circumscribed sensu lato as a single subfamily, Pterostichinae are downranked to a tribe Pterostichini. However, as the former Pterostichitae supertribe of the Harpalinae as loosely circumscribed does seem to constitute a lineage rather distinct from Harpalus, its core group is here considered to be the present subfamily and the Harpalinae are defined more narrowly.
Trechinae is a subfamily of ground beetles in the family Carabidae. There are 6 tribes, more than 430 genera, and over 6,700 described species in Trechinae.
The Aleocharinae are one of the largest subfamilies of rove beetles, containing over 12,000 species. Previously subject to large-scale debate whether the subfamily deserved the familial status, it is now considered one of the largest subfamilies of rove beetles.
