The Tooth Cave Ground Beetle is one of the many varieties of Ground Beetle. Ground Beetles may range in size from very tiny to rather large. The Tooth Cave Ground Beetle is one of the very small Ground Beetles. It derives its name from the fact that it spends its entire life underground. Spending its entire life in caves or other dark, underground areas, the Tooth Cave Ground Beetle has very small eyes and is therefore almost blind. However, the beetle is quite capable of finding prey despite its difficulty seeing. They run quite quickly around the cave looking for food, and are often found in areas where there's lots of loose, deep soil. The Beetle digs holes in these areas to look for cave cricket eggs. They also feed on other tiny insects that make their homes in the dark caves. Like other Ground Beetle species, the Tooth Cave Ground Beetle female lays eggs in the soil, which then hatch into larvae. The larvae feed on the soil and other debris before growing into a beetle. Despite the fact that the Tooth Cave Ground Beetle reproduces year round, they are still endangered because expansion of cities has destroyed the caves in which they live. A tiny, reddish-brown beetle, the Tooth Cave Ground Beetle does not look at all threatening at first glance. Looking closer, however, one sees the large mandibles characteristic of Ground Beetles. They also have very thin, threadlike antennae. Ground Beetles have a large plate covering the abdomen, making it necessary to attach the legs to the thorax further back. As mentioned above, Tooth Cave Ground Beetles are endangered because the growth of cities is destroying their habitats. Their habitat is also threatened by polluted water and other garbage entering the caves. A final threat to the Tooth Cave Ground Beetles is the fire ants, which often enter the caves and feed on the cave-dwelling insects. | 
2,234 Animals Online Today 
Central Insects Page
