We compared the response of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) to the creation of canopy gaps of different size (0.13 ha, 0.26 ha, and 0.50 ha) and age (1 and 7 yrs) in a bottomland hardwood forest (South Carolina, USA). Samples were collected 4 times in 2001 by malaise and pitfall traps placed at the center and edge of each gap, and 50 m into the surrounding forest. Species richness was higher at the center of young gaps than in old gaps or in the forest. Carabid abundance followed the same trend, but only with the exclusion of Semiardistomis viridis (Say), a very abundant species that differed in its response to gap age compared to most other species. Species known to occur in open or disturbed habitats were more abundant at the center of young gaps than at any other location. Generalist species were relatively unaffected by the disturbance. Forest inhabiting species were less abundant at the centers of gaps than in the forest.