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photo gallery of the beetle fauna of Germany

The distribution of the 4.2 to 7 mm large Ground Beetle Callistus lunatus (family Carabidae) stretches from Northern Spain, through Central Europe (South England, South Holland, East Germany), to South-Central Latvia and Russia, and Turkmenistan in the east. In the south it reaches the Mediterranean region without the islands. The beetle is markedly thermophilic and nowhere common. It usually prefers limestone soil, but is occasionally also reported from sandy soil. In Germany it is mostly found in the low mountain range, especially on xerothermic southern slopes, sparsely covered with vegetation. Normally one can find the beetle under stones and wood or crawling on the ground in dry and sunny weather. In the Red List of Germany C. lunatus is classified as endangered (RL 2).