TIGER BEETLE

The 'tiger beetles' are a large group of beetles known for their predatory habits.
Taxonomically, the beetles were traditionally classified as the family 'Cicindelidae' but most authorities now treat them as the subfamily 'Cicindelinae' of the Carabidae (ground beetles). The most recent classifications, however, have relegated them to a subgroup within the subfamily Carabinae, though this is not yet universally accepted; accordingly, there is no consensus classification for this group, at any level from family down to subspecies, and it can be exceedingly difficult to decipher the taxonomic literature surrounding this group. There are about 2,100 species known, with numbers ranging much higher or lower depending on the authority consulted.
Tiger beetles often have large bulging eyes, long, slender legs and large curved mandibles. All are predatory, both as adults and as larvae. The genus ''Cicindela'' has a cosmopolitan distribution. Other well-known genera include ''Megacephala'', ''Omus'', ''Amblycheila'' and ''Manticora''. While members of the genus ''Cicindela'' are usually diurnal and may be out on the hottest days, ''Megacephala'', ''Omus'', ''Amblycheila'' and ''Manticora'' are all nocturnal. Both ''Cicindela'' and ''Megacephala'' are often brightly colored, while the other genera mentioned are usually uniform black in color.
Tiger beetles in the genus ''Manticora'' are the largest in size of the subfamily. These live primarily in the deserts of South Africa.
The larvae of tiger beetles live in cylindrical burrows as much as a meter deep. They are large-headed, hump-backed grubs that flip backwards to capture prey insects that wander over the ground. The fast-moving adults run down their prey. Some tiger beetles can run at a speed of 5 mph. For its size it has been suggested that they are the fastest running land animals. Some tiger beetles in the tropics are arboreal, but most run on the surface of the ground. They live along sea and lake shores, on sand dunes, around playa lakebeds and on clay banks or woodland paths.
Tiger beetles have been considered as good indicator species and have been used in ecological studies on biodiversity.

Contents

Genera

Bibliography

Genera

★ ''Amblycheila'' Say, 1830

★ ''Cicindela'' Linnaeus, 1758

★ ''Megacephala'' Latreille, 1802

★ ''Omus'' Eschscholtz, 1829

Bibliography

★ ''Tiger Beetles of Alberta: Killers on the Clay, Stalkers on the Sand'' by John Acorn. University of Alberta Press, 2001.

★ ''Tiger Beetles: The Evolution, Ecology, and Diversity of the Cicindelids'' by David L. Pearson and Alfried P. Vogler. Cornell University Press, 2001.

★ ''A Field Guide to the Tiger Beetles of the United States and Canada'' by David L. Pearson, C. Barry Knisley and Charles J. Kazilek. Oxford University Press, 2005.

★ http://homepage3.nifty.com/trechinae/cicinw.htm (Japanese)