Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,758,127,237 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

tiger beetle
(redirected from Cicindelinae)

    Also found in: Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.02 sec.

tiger beetle

Enlarge picture
Tiger beetle (Cicindela).
(credit: William E. Ferguson)
Any of some 2,000 species (family Cicindelidae) of voracious beetles, found worldwide but mostly in the tropics and subtropics. The larva waits at the top of its burrow (up to 2 ft, or 0.7 m, deep) and grasps approaching insect prey with sicklelike jaws. Hooks on the abdomen anchor it so that the struggling victim cannot pull away, and the prey is dragged into the burrow and eaten. The slender, long-legged adults, less than an inch (25 mm) long, have long jaws that can inflict a painful bite. Many are iridescent blue, green, orange, or scarlet.

tiger beetle [′tī·gər ‚bēd·əl]
(invertebrate zoology)
The common name for any of the bright-colored beetles in the family Cicindelidae; there are about 1300 species distributed all over the world.


How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
 Email
Feedback
? Mentioned in
 
Encyclopedia browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Encyclopedia
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.