Panagaeus cruxmajor
Encyclopedia
The crucifix ground beetle, Panagaeus cruxmajor, is a rare Europe
an ground beetle
. In England
it occurs in a few places only. Panagaeus bipustulatus
is a commoner relative, looking very much alike except for being smaller. The crucifix ground beetle is sometimes included in P. bipustulatus, but most modern authors consider it distinct.
The largely black and rather bristly beetle is 8–10 mm (0.31496062992126–0.393700787401575 ) in length, with large red spots on its wing cases which give the appearance of a red background behind a black cross. It shelters under pieces of wood during the day, and is a nocturnal predatory species thought to mainly feed on semi-aquatic snails.
It was greatly treasured by 19th century collectors, and Charles Darwin
recounted an incident when he was an undergraduate at the University of Cambridge
around 1828. He had already collected two ground beetle
s when he "saw a sacred Panagæus crux major". He tried putting one of the other beetles in his mouth to free his hand, but it ejected acrid fluid down his throat, causing him to spit it out and lose all three.
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an ground beetle
Ground beetle
Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan family of beetles, Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, approximately 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 in Europe.-Description and ecology:...
. In England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
it occurs in a few places only. Panagaeus bipustulatus
Panagaeus bipustulatus
Panagaeus bipustulatus is a species of ground beetle native to Europe and the Near East. In Europe, it is found in Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the British Isles, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, mainland Denmark, Estonia, Finland, mainland France, Germany, Hungary, mainland...
is a commoner relative, looking very much alike except for being smaller. The crucifix ground beetle is sometimes included in P. bipustulatus, but most modern authors consider it distinct.
The largely black and rather bristly beetle is 8–10 mm (0.31496062992126–0.393700787401575 ) in length, with large red spots on its wing cases which give the appearance of a red background behind a black cross. It shelters under pieces of wood during the day, and is a nocturnal predatory species thought to mainly feed on semi-aquatic snails.
It was greatly treasured by 19th century collectors, and Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
recounted an incident when he was an undergraduate at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
around 1828. He had already collected two ground beetle
Ground beetle
Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan family of beetles, Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, approximately 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 in Europe.-Description and ecology:...
s when he "saw a sacred Panagæus crux major". He tried putting one of the other beetles in his mouth to free his hand, but it ejected acrid fluid down his throat, causing him to spit it out and lose all three.