Our insect of the week for this week (January 13, 2025) is the fifth part of a 9 part series.

Tiger beetle # 5 is Cicindela repanda [COLEOPTERA: Cicindelidae]. This species was described by the French entomologist, Pierre François Marie Auguste Dejean in 1825. Fun fact, he was a lieutenant general and “aide de campe” to Napoleon. He had a vast collection of beetles.

The common name of this tiger beetle is the bronzed tiger beetle. There are three described subspecies. Our former member, Gordon Adams, collected this specimen in Tazewell County, Illinois, in October, 1970.

This species (both adults and larvae) is found in sandy, gravel, or clay based soils. It feeds on many different arthropods (and has even been reported eating fruit – sassafras). Adults emerge in the autumn and survive the winter to reproduce in the spring. This Wikipedia article provides much more information about this species.

The images below were generated by combining over 200 individual photos. The process takes roughly 40 minutes per image. We appreciate you respecting our efforts and understanding as to why we retain copyrights on all images on this site. Please contact us before using these images for any purpose beyond viewing them on this website. The top image is the beetle in dorsal view; the middle image is the beetle in lateral view, and the bottom photo is the image in frontal view.

Cicindela repanda, dorsal view
Cicindela repanda, lateral view
Cicindela repanda, frontal view