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.

Rattled in the Black Hills

Posted on September 24, 2008 by Ted C. MacRae

My first day in the Black Hills of South Dakota was spent at McNenny State Fish Hatchery near Spearfish – on the north side of the Black Hills. I went to this place on the advice of my esteemed colleagues … Continue reading →

Posted in Cerambycidae, Cicindelidae, Coleoptera, Reptilia | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Goin’ fishin’

Posted on September 22, 2008 by Ted C. MacRae

For the past two days I’ve been in Sioux County, Nebraska – just east of Wyoming and just south of South Dakota. As I traveled up through the western panhandle to arrive at this spot, I was pleasantly surprised by … Continue reading →

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Digging tiger beetles

Posted on September 20, 2008 by Ted C. MacRae

After driving almost 600 miles on Friday, I was ready for some tiger beetle action. A quick 2-hour drive this morning got me to the first set of localities in extreme southwestern Nebraska and just across the border into Colorado … Continue reading →

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A hunting we will go!

Posted on September 18, 2008 by Ted C. MacRae

Maps have been prepared. Relevant emails from my esteemed colleagues to the northwest have been read and re-read. Summary sheets on the distribution, biology, and biogeography of the many different species I hope to encounter are in hand. Google Earth … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

“All the better to see you with, my dear!”

Posted on September 12, 2008 by Ted C. MacRae

Click me! Cicindela formosa (the big sand tiger beetle) is a not uncommon species that occurs across much of North America east of the Rocky Mountains in deep, dry, open sand habitats. It is absent in Appalachia and much of … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

The hunt for Cicindela celeripes

Posted on August 9, 2008 by Ted C. MacRae

One of the more enigmatic tiger beetle species in North America is Cicindela celeripes LeConte (swift tiger beetle). This small (6-8 mm), flightless species has been recorded from a restricted area of the eastern and southern Great Plains – from … Continue reading →

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Sand Prairie Conservation Area

Posted on July 30, 2008 by Ted C. MacRae

I have a love-hate affair with Missouri’s Southeast Lowlands (formally known as the Mississippi River Alluvial Basin, but simply called the “bootheel” by most folk in reference to the shape of its boundaries). Of the four main physiogeographic regions in … Continue reading →

Posted in Asclepiadaceae, Asteraceae, Boraginaceae, Cactaceae, Cerambycidae, Cicindelidae, Coleoptera, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Cicindela cursitans in Missouri

Posted on July 15, 2008 by Ted C. MacRae

For several weeks now my colleagues and I have been immersed in surveys for selected tiger beetle species in Missouri. We placed 50 pitfall traps in western Missouri and 75 in the southeastern lowlands in mid-June and have been checking … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments