Hairy-necked Tiger Beetle
Cicindela hirticollis
Description 2
A reddish-black tiger beetle of sandy beaches. Easily confused with Cicindela repanda, and the two species may intermingle where bluffs descend to sandy beach. The key to distinguishing the two is the shape of the foremost pale marking, at the "shoulder" of the insect: in repanda, this mark is "C"-shaped and curves to point in toward the center line of the insect; in hirticollis, the mark is sharply curved and points toward the front. The extent of the markings varies widely in C. hiriticollis, with some individuals showing virtually no markings at all; Tim Simmons (pers. comm.) attributes the absence of markings to wear, though others have deemed this variability to be a trait characterstic of a coastal northeastern subspecies, C. h. rhodensis. C. hiriticollis is somewhat local in its distribution and most likely to be found where dunes back up the ocean beach. But this species can be very common where it occurs.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Matt Pelikan, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Matt Pelikan
- (c) Matt Pelikan, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
