Field Guide
🐛
Green Tiger Beetle
Cicindela campestris
Not yet photographed by the community
Vivid green with cream spots; fast-running sandy heathland hunter.
Species Profile
Green List; locally common but declining in some regions due to habitat loss and disturbance
- Lifespan
- 2–3 years; adults typically active for one season
- Size & Weight
- 10–13 mm in length
- Habitat
- Open, sunny, bare or sparsely vegetated ground including heathland, sandy banks, gravel pits, and coastal dunes with loose substrate.
- UK Distribution
- Widespread across southern and central England, Wales, and southern Scotland; largely absent from northern uplands. Resident species; adults active from April to September.
- Diet
- Carnivorous; hunts small invertebrates including ants, flies, spiders, and other small beetles.
- Prey
- Small arthropods such as ants, flies, small spiders, and other beetles
- Predators
- Ground-dwelling vertebrates including shrews, hedgehogs, and ground-feeding birds; also parasitic wasps and robber flies
- Mating Season
- May to July
- Breeding
- Females lay eggs individually in vertical burrows in sandy soil; larvae develop underground over winter, pupating in spring; single generation per year in the UK.
- Behaviour
- Highly active, fast-running hunters that ambush prey on open ground. Adults are diurnal and rely on their large, forward-facing eyes for vision. They are capable fliers and often bask in sunny spots to thermoregulate.
- •Their large compound eyes give them superior vision compared to most insects, allowing them to detect prey movement from distance
- •They are one of the fastest insects in the UK, capable of running at speeds up to 60 body-lengths per second
- •Larvae are also predatory, remaining in vertical burrows and ambushing passing prey from the entrance
- •The metallic green coloration provides effective camouflage on sandy and chalky substrates
- •They produce an audible chirping sound by rubbing their wing cases and body parts, though the function remains unclear
🐛
No photos yet
Be the first to photograph a Green Tiger Beetle and share it with the community.