Purple Tiger Beetle
Cicindela purpurea
Description 2
A distinctive tiger beetle, purple with greenish highlights and reduced pale markings. Most useful for ID purposes is the middle marking on the wing, which is a flattened "S" in shape and usually stops short of the margin of the wing. Cicindela purpurea is fairly common on Martha's Vineyard despite being listed as a "Species of Special Concern" under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act. Because of its protected status, it should not be collected without appropriate permits and specific location information should not be publicized. The seasonality and distribution of this spring-fall species extensively overlaps that of Cicindela tranquebarica, though C. purpurea seems willing to tolerate slightly wetter micro-habitats or sites with more vegetation. Ordinarly, tranquebarica is the more common of the two, though purpurea can be quite plentiful on a local scale. C. purpurea is a much weaker flier than tranquebarica, and where they both occur, it is often possible to correctly ID individuals in flight by the slower, lower, and less direct flight of purpurea. I have one February record for purpurea; normally the species is active by the end of March, and this species is fairly easy to find in late August and September.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Matt Pelikan, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Matt Pelikan
- (c) Matt Pelikan, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
