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.

Mr. Phidippus gets his loot

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Ted C. MacRae

I’m sure by now Mr. Phidippus is wondering where his loot is. You see, some months ago Mr. Phidippus won BitB Challenge Session #5 with a solid string of 1st and 2nd place finishes in that session’s five ID and super crop … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Best of BitB 2012

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

Welcome to the 5th Annual “Best of BitB”, where I pick my favorite photographs from the past year. 2012 was one of the most intensive travel years I’ve ever had—I spent 8 weeks in Argentina from February through April, made separate … Continue reading →

Posted in Blaberidae, Blattodea, Bombyliidae, Carabidae, Cerambycidae, Chloropidae, Chrysomelidae, Cicindelidae, Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Dictyoptera, Diptera, Fulgoridae, Hemiptera, Lampyridae, Lepidoptera, Milichiideae, Noctuidae, Reduviidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Eye to eye to eye to eye with a tiger beetle larva

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

After the past few years of hunting tiger beetles, I’ve learned not only how to find the larval burrows but—at least for most of the species occurring in Missouri—how to identify the larvae in the field. While conclusive identifications rely upon … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

One Bad Beetle

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

Almost every tiger beetle trip that I take has a mix of gimmes and stretch goals. That’s alright—it’s impossible to find everything every time out, and if I eschewed the common and was happy only when I found something truly … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Where siblings mingle: Ellipsoptera marginata vs. E. hamata

Posted on November 25, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

When Erwin & Pearson (2008) formally broke up the great genus Cicindela by elevating most of its former subgenera to full genus rank, it caused a bit of consternation amongst some North American cicindelophiles. The argument went something like, “Now we have all these … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Persistence Pays

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

For the past three years I’ve crisscrossed the country in search of some of North America’s rarest tiger beetles, each time hoping to get that “perfect” photograph of an unconfined beetle exhibiting natural behavior in its native habitat. I’ve managed … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

How to deal with a crappy photo of a beautiful beetle

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

One thing I’ve discovered after trying my hand at insect macrophotography for the past three years is that I take a lot more photos than I can possibly post. As a result, I tend to focus my efforts on more … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

The Third of Florida’s Three Metallic Tiger Beetles

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Ted C. MacRae

After three straight posts not about tiger beetles, I’m hoping readers will forgive my return to this fascinating group. The photos in this post represent Tetracha virginica (Virginia Metallic Tiger Beetle), the most widely distributed (at least in the U.S.) of … Continue reading →

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