Punctured Tiger Beetle

A Summer/Fall Tiger Beetle

Punctured Tiger Beetle
Cicindela (Cicindelidia) punctulata


Additional photo

We were enjoying a walk at the Ft. Worth Nature Refuge when Martha spotted this Tiger Beetle on a walkway. This was our first find of this species at the Nature Center. We have seen the Six-Spotted Tiger Beetle there occasionally. I know two things about this new (for us) Tiger Beetle. One, they have good vision. Two, they are wary, as the information below states. I never could get closer than about five feet and I could never get to the front or side of this bug. I shot a lot of poor quality photos, all from the rear. Every time I tried to get closer, he would fly about two to three feet. The flight distance was always about the same. I took my eye off of him for one instant, and you know the rest. I estimated his size at about 5/8 inch.


Some information about this Genus and species.......

Common Tiger Beetles, Genus Cicindela

This genus includes almost 900 of the 2600 known species of tiger beetles worldwide. Adults range tremendously in size (5-25 mm) and color and live in habitats from forest and alpine to desert grassland and ocean beaches. They occur on every continent except Antarctica and all but the most isolated oceanic islands. A great variety of soil-surface types are used as foraging habitat by adults and larvae. Adults of most species in this genus forage for food and mate in open areas with little vegetation, but some live on the floor of tropical rain forest. Others are so specialized that they occur only on cliff edges, large boulder tops, or on fallen logs in moist forest. They quickly respond to predators and danger by flying short distances, although a few are flightless.

American Tiger Beetles, Subgenus (Cicindelidia)

Confined to the Western Hemisphere, this subgenus contains perhaps 80 or more species, most of which occur in Mexico and Central America. Twenty-one of these species occur in the United States and Canada, and an additional species is hypothetical for its occurrence here. The characters of the subgenus include eyes less protruding and legs shorter than most other groups within the genus Cicindela. Many of the species expose contrasting red-brown to bright orange abdomens when their elytra are spread in flight. Most species of Cicindelidia are active as adults only during the summer.

Punctured Tiger Beetle, Cicindela (Cicindelidia) punctulata

Description: Length 11-13 mm; a highly variable species, it can be black, brown, olive, or metallic green to blue-green above with maculations absent, reduced to small spots and short lines, or rarely complete. The tips of the closed elytra come to a broad point. The body is narrow, espe¬cially the thorax. Below it is metallic green, blue, and copper. Two rows of shallow but distinct pits run parallel along either side of the inner elytral edges.

Distribution and habitats: One of the most widely ranging species in North America, the Punctured Tiger Beetle in the east is found mainly in upland habitats with dry, hard-packed soils and sparse grasses present. These habitats include dusty roads, old trails, pastures, roadside ditches, strip mines, eroded gullies, city lawns, gardens, crop fields, sidewalks, parking lots, rock hillsides, sand pits, and dunes. In the west it occurs most regularly in the vicinity of water, such as the edge of rivers, lakes, marshes, irrigation ditches, temporary ponds, and alkali mud flats from lowland prairies to mountain tops.

Behavior: A solitary species in dry upland habitats of the east, it tends to be more gregarious around limited wet areas in the west. It is wary but is a weak flier with short escape flights. It is commonly attracted to lights at night. Because it so regularly occurs in agricultural areas, there is some evidence that some populations may have developed resistance to pesticides.

Seasonality: A summer active species, adults can be found from April to November, but are most active from July to august. In the southwest, summer rains limit activity to July-September. It over winters as larvae and has a one to two year life cycle.

Information taken from:

A Field Guide to the Tiger Beetles of the United States and Canada
By Pearson, Knisley, and Kazilek
For information and pricing on this book at Amazon.com, Click here.


For a great article on Missouri Tigers in the Missouri Conservationist Online, Click here.
It’s a great article about Tiger Beetles in general.


Two of my favorite blog sites for Tiger Beetles are:

Beetles in the Bush and
Gossamer Tapestry

Click on the links

If you read this far down the post, and found it interesting and informative,
Please leave a comment. Did you follow the links? Did you enjoy them?

Troy and Martha

Festive Tiger Beetle

No, not a state of being, A Name!

A.
The name of the tiger beetle in question is:

Festive Tiger Beetle (Cicindela scutellaris ssp. scutellaris)
(Click for a closer view)
A temperate zone tiger beetle

There are seven (7) distinctive populations recognized as scutellaris subspecies. At contact zones between most subspecies, considerable variation and inter-gradation can be evident.

Yes, our tiger beetle is dressed in his ‘festive’ best. He has a “smooth” and brightly metallic surface on the upper side. The dark green - blue head and thorax contrasts vividly with the intense reddish orange elytra.

This subspecies is the dominant form in the extreme western portions of the scutellaris species’ range, roughly west of the Missouri river. A broad contact zone with lecontei produces tremendous variability among individuals in eastern S. Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas.

The only species likely to be confused with scutellaris is the Splendid Tiger Beetle (Cicindela splendidas) which has a dull matte finish on the elytra and usually some short tan maculations (spots).

There is at times great difficulty in identifying some species without them in hand. Lighting and angle of light can play an important part in identifying a tiger beetle from photographs. I have only recently come to realize that I should photograph them with both flash and natural light, and from different lighting angles.

B.
Consider the follow photograph.

Is it a Festive Tiger Beetle (Cicindela scutellaris ssp. rugata) or a Six-spotted Tiger Beetle (Cicindela sexguttata) without any maculations. By the angle of the photo we can eliminate the Six-spotted Tiger Beetle since both sexes of the Six-spotted have a white or whitish labrum (face). Notice the female in this photograph has a black labrum. So again, either several photographs are necessary or the right angle of viewing, as in this case, helps.

Cicindela sp. (possibly C. scutellaris rugata)

C.
Following is a photograph of one of the most common tiger beetles encountered on the trail by hikers. They are bright green with four to six maculations (sometimes they have just two or even no maculations). Range is an important factor when making identifications or comparing with other plain green tiger beetles.

Six-spotted Tiger Beetle (Cicindela sexguttata)

Update:
Sharp-eyed "Fishing Guy" over at "This is my blog" (Click here) noticed that the Six-spotted Tiger Beetle has eight spots. Mid-line maculations, if enlarged, which they are in this case, may sometimes have additional very small spots.
Currently, 10 subspecies of the Six-spotted Tiger Beetle have been proposed, but current taxonomic analysis reveals that none are consistently different enough from one population to the next to list as separate subspecies. Maybe with more study or future thinking, this will be changed.

There are currently 119 species of tiger beetle in North America north of Mexico and another 114 recognized subspecies or geographically distinct sub-races.

After 50+ years as a birder, and many years photographing butterflies, looking at dragonflies, observing insects, being involved with spiders, and studying nature in general, I have decided it’s time for a new challenge. tiger beetles. I have heard other birders who have not seen a new life bird for their lists say they need a new challenge. Many avid butterfly photographers are long time birders.

At the recommendation of Doug Taron over at Gossamer Tapestry (click here), I have a new book called “Field Guide to the Tiger Beetles of the United States and Canada”. It’s a great book and may help to elevate my appreciation and understanding of the tiger beetles. However, there is a lot to be said for ‘dumb and happy’.

I would be glad to consider expert testimony as to any mis-identification of the individuals presented here.
All were photographed in varying habitats near Ft. worth, TX.

Troy