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tiger beetle
(redirected from tiger beetles)

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tiger beetle

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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.


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Come face to face with African tiger beetles, scorpions and Madagascar hissing cockroaches in the 50-exhibit display from the U.
KIDS BEAT : GET CLOSE TO INSECTS by Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
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