Carabid beetles (https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/186) are
a very large family of insects with numerous species. They live at the soil surface and may not be as easy to spot as lady beetles or other beneficial insects. But many are important predators, eating slugs, snails, and insect pests. Some – like the Amara spp. this pattern was modeled after – eat seeds, including weed seeds. While carabid beetles come in many different shapes and colors, they generally have large jaws and all have what look like little jelly beans (called trochanters) on the femurs of their hind legs. Usually they won’t hold still long enough for you to notice!

Materials:

• Set of 4, ~2.75 mm (US 2) double-pointed knitting needles
• Dark colored yarn (e.g., black, black/brown, black/blue, navy blue) for head, thorax, abdomen, pronotum, and elytra; black yarn for eyes; orange/gold/rust yarn for antennae, mandibles, legs, and trochanters; all sport weight yarn.
• Fiber fill or yarn scraps of similar color to stuff your insect.
• Tapestry needle for assembly
• Rusty orange sport weight yarn for antennae, mandibles, legs, and trochanters.
• Size 0 crochet hook
• One 12-inch long pipe cleaner, in similar color to leg yarn