- Cicindela campestris
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Cicindela campestris 
Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleoptera Family: Carabidae Subfamily: Cicindelinae Genus: Cicindela Species: C. campestris Binomial name Cicindela campestris
Linnaeus, 1758
Mating pair. Male grips female at back of thorax with his (pale-coloured) mandibles
Cicindela campestris , commonly called the green tiger beetle is a widespread Eurasian species of tiger beetle.
Adults are 12-15mm long. The elytra and thorax 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.
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. They can fly fast, making a loud buzzing noise.[1]
The larvae are carnivorous. They dig burrows from where they ambush ground-living insects such as ants.[1]
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
Notes
References
Chinery, Michael. Collins Complete Guide to British Insects. Collins, 2005. ISBN 978-0-00-729899-0
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