''Cicindela theatina'', commonly known as the Great Sand Dunes tiger beetle, is a predatory

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

found in sparsely vegetated sandy habitats. The species' range encompasses only about in the

Great Sand Dunes National Park Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is an American national park that conserves an area of large sand dunes up to tall on the eastern edge of the San Luis Valley, and an adjacent national preserve in the Sangre de Cristo Range, in sou ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

. Despite its small range, the species is relatively secure because its entire habitat is within a protected national park. The adults are about long and are readily distinguished by the violin-shaped marking on their backs and their iridescent green-blue heads. The insects live for approximately 2.5 years, with mating occurring in late May and larvae appearing the next month. The larval stage lasts a little more than a year, with adults emerging the next July.

References

theatina Beetles described in 1944 Beetles of the United States {{Cicindelinae-stub