The Ground Beetles, otherwise known as Carabidae, are a large family of beetles characterised by their way of living.
Ground Beetles will either be soil or ground dwellers, and they're incredibly diverse! They can be large or small, shiny or matte. Most are dull in colour, although some species possess metallic hues!
They're considered beneficial insects for the garden as most are polyphagous, meaning they'll eat lots of different things. Some, however, are more specialist, eating only a few or one type of food.
The Violet Ground Beetle (Carabus violaceus) is a reasonably large beetle spanning roughly 2.5 cm in length. An adult will eat a variety of things, including slugs, leatherjackets, cutworms and caterpillars!
Traits

Predatory insects that hunt the pests in your garden.
Appearance
Adults: This family of beetles is hugely diverse. They can span anywhere between 0.2- 4 cm (below 2 inches). Most are black to brown but can come in a variety of tones, such as blues and greens with an iridescent shine. Beetles belonging to the Notiophilus genera possess black wingcases (elytra) involving some form of metallic bronze patterning.
Getting a little closer to these beetles, you may notice the wingcases have rows of tiny indented spots.
They have long legs for running and powerful jaws for capturing prey.
Larvae: Often soil-dwelling, ambushing prey from behind cover.
Personality
Order
Coleoptera
Family
Carabidae
Metamorphosis
Complete
Distribution
Worldwide