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.

Moustached Tiger Beetle

Posted on November 16, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

In my previous post, I featured the rare Cicindela highlandensis (Highlands Tiger Beetle), restricted entirely to sand scrubland and pine woodland habitats along the Lake Wales Ridge in central Florida (Choate 2003).  However, that would not be the only Florida endemic tiger beetle … Continue reading →

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Highlands Tiger Beetle

Posted on November 12, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

When my wife and I made plans to spend a week at her sister’s condominium in Florida this past summer, I began making a list of the tiger beetle species that I wanted to see.  I would be happy to … Continue reading →

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Beetle Research Roundup

Posted on November 5, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

The latest issue of the journal Cicindela arrived in my mailbox today, and as usual some interesting papers are included.  For those of you unfamiliar with it, Cicindela is “a quarterly journal devoted to the Cicindelidae,” publishing papers dealing with any aspect … Continue reading →

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Florida Metallic Tiger Beetle

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

In my previous post, I showed some photographs of the larva of an undetermined species of tiger beetle that I collected from its burrow in dry ground adjacent to a coastal salt marsh near St. Petersburg, Florida. I had assumed … Continue reading →

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Anatomy of a Tiger Beetle Larva

Posted on October 22, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

My first experience looking for tiger beetles in Florida had gone well.  Despite its small size and urban surroundings, the narrow strip of coastal scrub and saltwater marsh along the intracoastal waterway behind my sister-in-law’s condominium boasted a robust population of … Continue reading →

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(My) Introduction to Florida Tiger Beetles

Posted on October 17, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

On the last day of July, I hopped into my stuffed-to-the-brim SUV and began the +1000-mile drive to St. Petersburg, Florida.  I had with me my camera and my collecting gear, but also my bike, some beach wear… and my family!  No, … Continue reading →

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Cold and wet

Posted on October 13, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

The annual fall tiger beetle collecting trip is over, and nothing could be more emblematic of the trip than this cold, wet Cicindela splendida (literally translating to its well-deserved common name “Splendid Tiger Beetle”), found in the waning light of … Continue reading →

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Ant-like Tiger Beetle

Posted on September 10, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

One of the more recent of the 24 species of tiger beetles that we’ve collected in Missouri is Cylindera cursitans (Ant-like Tiger Beetle).  Although not yet formally recorded from the state, we’ve known about its occurrence here for some time … Continue reading →

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