(Cicindela repanda)
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Biology • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status |
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IUCN Red List | not listed |
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NatureServe | N5 - Secure S5 - Secure |
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Minnesota | not listed |
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Description |
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Bronzed tiger beetle is a small tiger beetle. It is one of the most common species of tiger beetle in North America. Adults are ⅜″to ½″ long. The hardened wing coverings (elytra) are dark brown with pale markings. They are widest beyond the middle. Between the bases of the elytra there is a small triangular plate (scutellum) that is visible when the beetle is viewed from above. The pale markings on the elytra are essential in identifying the species. The front area of the elytra (humeral region), closest to the head, has a crescent-shaped mark (linule) consisting of a dot at the forward outer corner (humerus), a posthumeral dot, and a curved marginal line connecting them. The humeral linule on each elytra points the one on the other elytra. The middle area (middle region) has a more or less S-shaped middle band and a marginal band. The middle band is complete, not broken into dots. The marginal band is connected to, or only narrowly removed from, the humeral linule. The rear area (apical region) has a linule consisting of a dot at the tip of the elytra, a subapical dot, and a curved marginal line connecting them. The plate covering the thorax (pronotum) is dark brown, coppery tinged, and hairy. The front angle of the pronotum is rounded and does not conspicuously project forward. The pronotum is narrower than the head and narrower than the base of the elytra. The eyes are large and bulging. The antennae are thread-like and are inserted above the base of the mandibles. The mouthpart between the mandibles (labrum), often likened to an upper lip, is small and has a single tooth. The legs are long and slender. All legs have five end segments (tarsi). |
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Size |
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⅜″to ½″ |
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Similar Species |
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Twelve-spotted tiger beetle (Cicindela duodecimguttata) front angle of the pronotum is angled, not rounded. The humeral linule is broken and is separated from the marginal line by a wide gap. |
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Habitat |
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Open, sunny, sandy, gravelly, or clay, sparsely vegetated areas adjacent to streams and rivers; beaches, sandbars, mud flats. |
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Biology |
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Season |
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March to July and August to October |
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Behavior |
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Adults are active during the day. They are fast runners. |
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Life Cycle |
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After mating the female digs a hole in the soil, deposits a single egg, then covers the hole. The egg hatches and the emergent larva burrows further into the soil creating a tunnel. It then sits on top of the burrow, anchors itself using a hook on the fifth abdominal segment, and waits for any insect unlucky enough to pass by. When it detects prey it seizes the insect, drags it to the bottom of the tunnel, and eats it there. The bronzed tiger beetle lives about two years. The larva passes through three stages (instars) before it pupates. It overwinters the first year as a third instar, the second year as an adult. Adults emerge from the pupal stage in late summer and fall. Overwintering adults may survive into July or even August, overlapping the next generation. |
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Larva Food |
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Any insect the larva can get into its hole |
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Adult Food |
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Mostly insects but occasionally also fruit |
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Distribution |
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Sources |
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8/27/2022 | ||||
Occurrence |
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Common and abundant |
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Taxonomy |
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Order |
Coleoptera (beetles) | ||
Suborder |
Adephaga (Ground and Water Beetles) | ||
Superfamily |
Caraboidea | ||
Family |
Carabidae (ground beetles) | ||
Subfamily |
Cicindelinae (tiger beetles) | ||
Tribe |
Cicindelini (flashy tiger beetles) | ||
Genus |
Cicindela (common tiger beetles) | ||
Subgenus | Cicindela | ||
Subordinate Taxa |
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bronzed tiger beetle (Cicindela repanda repanda) Nova Scotia tiger beetle (Cicindela repanda novascotiae) Tanner’s tiger beetle (Cicindela repanda tanneri) |
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Synonyms |
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Common Names |
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bronzed tiger beetle common shore tiger beetle |
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Glossary
Elytra
The hardened or leathery forewings of beetles used to protect the fragile hindwings, which are used for flying. Singular: elytron.
Linule
A crescent-shaped mark. On some tiger beetles (Cicindela spp.) an important identification mark.
Pronotum
The exoskeletal plate on the upper side of the first segment of the thorax of an insect.
Scutellum
The exoskeletal plate covering the rearward (posterior) part of the middle segment of the thorax in some insects. In Coleoptera, Hemiptera, and Homoptera, the dorsal, often triangular plate behind the pronotum and between the bases of the front wings. In Diptera, the exoskeletal plate between the abdomen and the thorax.
Tarsus
The last two to five sections of an insect’s leg, attached to the tibia; the foot. Plural: tarsi.
Visitor Photos |
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Evin |
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It was found underneath a car seat cover on my car in my garage |
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Kirk Nelson |
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On the banks of the Mississippi River |
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Seen on Picnic Island; fairly abundant |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
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Slideshows |
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Visitor Videos |
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Other Videos |
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Cicindela repanda repanda 1 Mathew Brust |
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About
Published on Apr 5, 2015 High densities of Cicindela repanda repanda at Box Butte Reservoir in Dawes County, Nebraska on April 4, 2015. |
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Cicindela repanda repanda 2 Mathew Brust |
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About
Published on Apr 5, 2015 Cicindela repanda repanda at Box Butte Reservoir in Dawes County, Nebraska on April 5, 2015. |
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Bronzed Tiger Beetle (Carabidae: Cicindela repanda) Caught in Web Carl Barrentine |
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About
Uploaded on Jul 11, 2009 Photographed at the Rydell NWR, Minnesota (11 July 2009). |
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Bronzed Tiger Beetle (Carabidae: Cicindela repanda) Carl Barrentine |
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About
Uploaded on Apr 17, 2010 Anterior and lateral views of a Tiger Beetle. Photographed at the Rydell NWR, Minnesota (17 April 2010). |
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Created 9/1/2015
Last Updated: