Our insect of the week for February 3, 2025 is Ellipsoptera lepida [COLEOPTERA: Cicindelidae]. This is part 8 in our series featuring local tiger beetles. This species was described by the French soldier and entomologist, Pierre François Marie Auguste Dejean, in 1831.

Fun fact (from the Wikipedia article about him) – “At the battle of Alcanizas he took time out of battle to pick up a beetle that he pinned on to cork on the inside of his helmet. After victory, he was pleased to find the beetle intact.” Now that is dedication to entomology! Or, insanity?

This species has the common name – ghost tiger beetle. It may live as long as 2 years. It is now considered a threaened species in Minnesota. It is typically found in sandy soils with little vegetation.

The beetle shown here was collected by Gordon Adams in Peoria County, Illinois, in June, 1964. This copyrighted photo was created by stacking nearly 200 photos together to generate each of these photos. The top photo is the dorsal view of the beetle; the middle photo is a lateral view of the beetle; and the bottom photo is the frontal view of the beetle.