British insects: the families of Coleoptera
British insects: the families of Coleoptera |
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~Carabidae-Cicindelinae.
Tiger-beetles.
General appearance. 10–15 mm long (?). Body length/maximum body width 1.7–4.25. Elytral length/pronotal length 2.1–3.6. Base of prothorax not or scarcely narrower than the combined elytral bases, or distinctly narrower than the combined elytral bases. Greatest prothoracic width not narrower or only slightly narrower than the greatest elytral width, or distinctly narrower than greatest elytral width. Beetles conspicuously necked, or not necked. Upper surfaces of body glabrous or subglabrous, or non-glabrous; exhibiting stiff, erect, dark bristles, or not bristly; with neither scales nor scale-like setae.
Detailed morphology. Beetles prognathous. Inclination of the head slight. Eyes strongly protuberant; without bristles; finely facetted. Antennae about half the insect's head to tail length; 11 segmented; filiform. Antennal insertions visible from above to hidden from above; not hidden by lateral extensions of the frons (inserted between eyes and mandibles, under a frontal ridge). Mandibular prosthecae absent. Pronotal length/maximum pronotal width 0.72–2.25. Prothorax with notopleural sutures. Metaventrite with a transverse groove, or without a transverse groove. Hind coxae immovably fixed to the metasternum and dividing the first abdominal sternite. Tarsal segmentation formula 5, 5, 5. The tarsi without bilobed segments; without ‘hidden’ segments. Front tarsi with as many segments as the mid-tarsi; 5-segmented. Mid-leg tarsi 5-segmented; pentamerous. The claws of the mid-leg tarsi not appendaged. The claws of the mid-leg tarsi simple. Hind tarsi with as many segments as the mid-tarsi; 5-segmented. Elytral length/maximum width across the elytra 1.2–3.1. Elytra exposing no more than part of the terminal tergite; without striae. Scutellary striole absent. Wings well developed, or absent or much reduced. Exposed abdominal sternites 6, or 7; comprising both fused and movable components; immovably joined 3. Abdominal segment 8 with apparently functional spiracles.
Adult habitat, ecology. Predacious (the heads large); hunting in the open.
Larvae. Larvae predacious.
Classification. Suborder Polyphaga.
Worldwide and British representation. About 2600 species worldwide. 6 species in Britain; genera in Britain 1; Cicindela. E.g., Cicindela hybrida (Tiger Beetle).
Illustrations. • Cicindela hybrida (Tiger-beetle: B. Ent. 001). • Cicindela hybrida (details, B. Ent. 001). • Cicindela hybrida: B. Ent. 001, legend+text. • Cicindela hybrida: B. Ent. 001, text cont. (2). • Cicindela hybrida: B. Ent. 001, text cont. (3). • Cicindela hybrida: B. Ent. 001, text cont. (4). • Cicindela campestris (Tiger-beetle: photo). • Cicindela campestris (Tiger-beetle, head detail: Giles Watson).
To view the illustrations with detailed captions, go to the interactive key. This also offers full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. British insects: the families of Coleoptera. Version: 2nd January 2012. http://delta-intkey.com’.
