''Cicindela campestris'', commonly called the green tiger beetle, is a widespread Eurasian species of

tiger beetle Tiger beetles are a family of beetles, Cicindelidae, known for their aggressive predatory habits and running speed. The fastest known species of tiger beetle, ''Rivacindela hudsoni'', can run at a speed of , or about 125 body lengths per second. ...

. It is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

of the large genus ''Cicindela''.

Adult

Adults are typically long. The

elytra An elytron (; ; , ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometimes alterna ...

and

thorax The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the cre ...

are green, varying in tone from light to dark, spotted with cream-coloured patches, and in bright sunlight are somewhat iridescent. The eyes are blackish; the legs are brown with whitish hairs. The antennae are long and straight, not clubbed. Cicindela campestris 1 of 3

Behaviour

The adults are sun-loving. They live in places with dry soils (sandy or chalky), mostly between May and October at the latitude of Britain. Like other tiger beetles, they run fast on their long legs and are most often seen on bare ground, in Britain typically on heather

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland, nowadays, generally ...

. They can fly fast, making a loud buzzing noise.Chinery, M. page 110 It can run at speeds of 60 cm per second.

Distribution

''Cicindela campestris'' is distributed across Europe from Spain in the southwest to Finland in the northeast. Most records are from the UK, Germany, Austria and the south of Sweden. In Britain, records are mainly from dry sandy or heathy areas such as the heathlands of Surrey, Hampshire and Dorset, and the mountains and moorlands of the Scottish Highlands.

Subspecies

The species is divided into several subspecies: *''Cicindela campestris atlantis'' Mandl, 1944 *''Cicindela campestris balearica'' Sydow, 1934 *''Cicindela campestris cyprensis'' Hlisnikowsky, 1929 *''Cicindela campestris nigrita'' Dejean, 1825 *''Cicindela campestris olivieria'' Brullé, 1832 *''Cicindela campestris palustris'' Motschulsky, 1840 *''Cicindela campestris pontica'' Fischer von Waldheim, 1825 *''Cicindela campestris saphyrina'' Gené, 1836 *''Cicindela campestris siculorum'' Schilder, 1953 *''Cicindela campestris suffriani'' Loew, 1943 *''Cicindela campestris calabrica '' Mandl, 1944

Ecology

The mollicute bacterium species '' Entomoplasma freundtii'' (Entomoplasmatales, Entomoplasmataceae) can be isolated from the green tiger beetle.

Notes

References

Chinery, Michael. Collins Complete Guide to British Insects. Collins, 2005.

External links

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Opus 43, Cicindela Campestris by Stephen Andrew Rawle.
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ARKiveThe Guardian: Country diary
campestris Beetles of Europe Beetles described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Cicindelinae-stub