Subfamily:
Cicindelinae (tiger beetles)
Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Ecdysozoa > Panarthropoda > Tritocerebra > Arthopoda > Mandibulata > Atelocerata > Panhexapoda > Hexapoda
> Insecta
(insects) > Dicondyla > Pterygota > Metapterygota > Neoptera > Eumetabola >
Holometabola > Coleoptera (beetles)
> Suborder: Adephaga > Family:
Carabidae (ground beetles)
Medium to large sized, fast-moving beetles
with slender legs. Flattened, metallic bodies with black or brown with
yellow or white patterns. They have large, prominent eyes, making the head wider
than the prothorax. Covered in hairs that lie flat against the body surface.
Most are fast fliers, usually in fast bursts when
disturbed where they rest on beaches and open ground. They are
successful predators using speed, large eyes and large and toothed
mandibles. The larvae live in vertical burrows in the sand from which
they ambush their prey.
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Lophyra barbifrons (Pale tiger beetle), 11mm.
[image by M. Picker & C.
Griffiths ©, from Field Guide to Insects of South Africa,
used with permission]. |
Chaetodera regalis (Royal tiger beetle), 18mm.
[image by M. Picker & C.
Griffiths ©, from Field Guide to Insects of South Africa,
used with permission]. |
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Platydela quadriguttata (Emerald tiger beetle), 11mm.
[image by M. Picker & C.
Griffiths ©, from Field Guide to Insects of South Africa,
used with permission]. |
Mantichora sp. (Monster tiger beetle), 42mm.
[image by A. Weaving ©,
from Field Guide to Insects of South Africa, used with
permission]. |
Page by Margie Cochrane |
