Category Archives: Cicindelidae

Tiger beetles. Adults are agile predators in open areas such as stream banks and beaches; a few species are wingless and on tree trunks. Larvae are ambush predators living in vertical tunnels of soil or wood.

What’s so special about this beetle?

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Regular readers of this blog might recognize this as the swift tiger beetle, Cylindera celeripes. This tiny, flightless beetle was once common in the central Great Plains; however, the species has experienced dramatic declines over the past century due to near … Continue reading →

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Manduca vs. Amblycheila

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Which one do you think will win? Copyright © Ted C. MacRae 2010 Email to a friend

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Eastern Red-Bellied Tiger Beetle

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Last summer, while looking for North America’s most beautiful longhorned beetle in the dolomite glades of southwest Missouri’s White River Hills, I also came across good numbers of a tiger beetle species that I had previously considered rather uncommon in the … Continue reading →

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Vicarious Friday Beetle Blogging

Posted on July 9, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Despite the fact that I have a beetle blog and Alex has an ant blog, it is the latter where the regular series Friday Beetle Blogging resides (hmm, I wonder if I should start a Myrmecine Monday series?).  Alex has perhaps … Continue reading →

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Hunting the Great Plains giant tiger beetle

Posted on July 7, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

In the early 1980s, I was a young, green entomologist, fresh out of school with a budding interest in beetle taxonomy, a zeal for collecting, and a desire to meet other like-minded individuals. Among the first collectors I had the … Continue reading →

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Amblycheila success!

Posted on July 4, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

I love it when a plan comes together! Another one was caught after these photos for a total of five individuals. They’ve been setup for now in a container of native soil. I hope you’ll forgive these rather rushed photos … Continue reading →

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The Power of Impulse

Posted on July 3, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Since figuring out a couple weeks that I had the larva of North America’s largest tiger beetle (Amblycheila cylindriformis, or Great Plains giant tiger beetle) in a rearing tub in the lab, I haven’t been able to think about anything except how … Continue reading →

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North America’s largest tiger beetle (I think!)

Posted on June 22, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

The generous among us might call it serendipity, while the rest of us would just call it luck.  By whatever name, I had it in spades in June last year when I made my first visit to the Glass Mountains of … Continue reading →

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