39 



which are concerned, but they are so much alike that it requires an experienced entomo- 

 logist to distinguish them. 



Tiger Beetles. 



Order, Coleoptera ; Family, Cicindelidce. 



Among the many common insects to be observed on a warm sunny day, none are 

 more noticeable than our friends, the Tiser Beetles, both from their brilliant colouring 

 and their rapid flight. These two characters are hkely to induce the observer to attempt 

 to capture them, but this is not always an easy matter, for these insects are very rapid in 

 their movements, and, although they cannot fly long distances without frequently alight- 

 ing, yet they manage by craft to escape their pursuer unless he has considerable patience. 

 It is noticed that when one of these insects alights from a short flight, he does so with 

 his head to his pursuer, whom he is careful always to keep in sight. They are most easily 

 taken by a small net. 



The Tiger Beetles frequent sandy banks and roads or other spots which are fully ex- 

 posed to the light and warmth of the sun and free from vegetation. They delight in the 

 full glare of the sun, but in cloudy weather disappear, to reappear with the sunshine. The 

 Cicindelas have received the common name of Tiger Beetles on account of their ravages 

 amongst other insects, pursuing and destroying incessantly all weaker creatures they en- 

 counter. But it is this very character which renders them worthy to be classed among 

 our insect friends, as we shall see when we come to speak of their life. 



We insert here life size illustrations of some of our Canadian species : — Cicindela 

 vulgaris, Say ; C. purpurea, Riv.; C. TiirticoUis, Say ; C. sex-guitata, Fabr.; C. generosa, Dej. 



Fig. 16. Fig. 17. Fig. 18. Fig. 19. Fig. 20. 



Cicindela vulgaris, Say (fig. 16), our most common species, is of a dull purplish col- 

 our above, and a beautiful bright brassy green underneath. On each of the elytra, or 

 wing-covers, are three whitish irregular stripes. It is a little over half an inch in length 

 and^about a quarter of an inch in breadth, and has very long curved jaws of great power, 

 and long slender legs. 



C. purpurea, Riv., or the purple Tiger Beetle, is nearly as large as the preceding, and 

 has markings as in fig. 17 ; its general colour is a beautiful metallic purple. 



C. hirticoUis, Say (fig. 18), is commonly called the hairy-necked Tiger Beetle, owing 

 to the presence of a number of whitish hairs along the side of the middle segments of the 

 body. It is a little smaller than C. vulgaris. 



C. sex-guttata, Fabr. (fig. U>), is one of the most handsome of this family, its general 

 colour being a very brilliant metallic green, and having six tiny white spots on its wing- 

 covers. 



G. generosa, Dej. (fig. 20), is a large and handsome species, occasionally found in On- 

 tario, especially among the sand banks along the shores of Lake Huron. 



In the life of a Tiger Beetle there are four stages : — The egg, the grub or larva, the 

 pupa or chrysalis, and the imago or perfect insect ; therefore it is said to undergo com- 

 plete metamorphosis, in contra-distinction to some other insects which have not the same 

 number of stages in their existence, and are consequently said to undergo incomplete 

 metamorphosis. 



