Tiger Beetle

A beetle with a beautiful metallic luster.

Scientific name	Cicindela japonica
English name	Tiger Beetle
Japanese name	斑猫
Class	Insecta
Order	Coleoptera
Family	Carabidae
Genus	Cicindela
Species	japonica
Full length	20mm
Distribution	Distributed in Honshu and southward.

Tiger Beetle Characteristics and Morphology

A representative tiger beetle with a beautiful, colorful metallic luster. Its entire body has a sheen, with various colors such as green, blue, and red mixed together. The total length is about 20mm.
The head is green and has mandibles. The elytra and thorax have a bright red color. There are white spots towards the tail. The legs have fine hairs.

Male

Males are larger than females.
The mandibles of males are larger than those of females. There are white spots around the shoulders.

Female

Females are not as large as males.
The mandibles are also more modest. White spots on the shoulders are not seen.

Juvenile

Larvae also have mandibles.

Tiger Beetle Ecology

Habitat

They are found from around April in mountain forest roads and moist ground along streams. They come out to sunny ground rather than dark places.

Food

Carnivorous, they use their mandibles to catch and eat insects. The larvae also dig vertical holes in the ground, hide, and drag in passing insects such as ants to eat.

Tiger Beetle Photos

Tiger Beetle Photos are introduced.
Tap the photo to open the detail page.

It has blue, red, and green metallic luster.

Tiger Beetle Behavior

They appear on forest roads and move in increments of 1-2 meters. The larvae dig vertical holes in the ground and hide.

Tiger Beetle Information

Naming

The Japanese name "Hanmyō" is also called "Nami-hanmyō" to distinguish it from other species belonging to the subfamily Cicindelinae. It has other names such as "Michi-oshie" and "Michi-shirube." This is because the way Hanmyō appears on forest roads and moves in increments of 1-2 meters felt like it was inviting people. The English name is "Tiger Beetle," derived from its tiger-like hunting behavior.

They overwinter as adults in the soil.

Tiger Beetle Found Locations

Forest road in Hachiōji

Photographed on a forest road in Hachiōji. It came out to the sunny ground along the stream. Although it is not a noisy insect, it is easy to find because it is so colorful. On this day, it seemed to be targeting insects gathering on raccoon droppings. Its mandibles are sharp, giving it a fierce look when viewed from the front.

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