What Kind of Beetle is This?

Observation: Never seen this kind of beetle before.

LEO says: Ground beetles are a large group of insects that can be found in a variety of habitats. Some sources list as many as 237 species in the state of Alaska. This beetle looks similar very to either the Carabus (Oreocarabus) or the Carabus (Diocarabus). A distinguishing feature between these two beetles is the mouth. The mouthpieces of the Carabus (Oreocarabus) are better adapted for chewing or biting.

Both species can be found in Alaska, however the microhabitats of these two beetles are slightly different. Carabus (Diocarabus) are found "open or shaded moderately dry or moist, stony, rocky, or gravelly ground covered with discontinuous vegetation, or on rich organic ground covered with leaf litter on moraines and alpine meadows and in coniferous, and mixed forests." Carabus (Oreocarabus) are found in "open rather dry, mostly gravelly ground covered with thin low vegetation or dead leaves on moraines, meadows, shrub-steppes, in canyons, on mountains slopes and cirques, in cultivated fields, on sagebrush-steppes, rangelands, in open deciduous, or coniferous forests, and in burnt forests." Source: Western Hemisphere Carabiodea. M. Tcheripanoff

This observation has been shared with the UAF Cooperative Extension Service, IPM Statewide Coordinator.

Resources:

Beneficial Insects and Spiders of Alaska – 2010. (pages 20-21). "Adults range in size from very small to about 3 cm. Body form usually oval with long walking legs. Coloration is usually black or brown, but some have striking blue or green iridescence." Source: University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service programs

North American Beetle Insects – "Beetles make up a huge portion of the animal kingdom that, if lined up, every fourth animal would be represented by their kind."
InsectIdentification for the causal observer.