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Tiger Beetle


Tiger Beetle
Photo Information
Copyright: MY Wong (Seabird) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 184 W: 0 N: 359] (1387)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-08-24
Categories: Insects
Camera: Canon EOS 10D, Tamron 90mm macro
Exposure: f/9.5, 1/1500 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Tiger beetles (Cicindelidae) of the world [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2008-09-08 4:43
Viewed: 4813
Points: 34
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
an udpate:

thank you very much for all your replies and pointers. so, this 'flying ant' is actually a tiger beetle : )

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_beetle:

The tiger beetles are a large group of beetles known for their predatory habits. Some tiger beetles can run at a speed of 5 mph. For its size it has been suggested that they are technically the fastest running land animals[1]. This has been featured on "Animal Planet's Most Extreme" show as the number one fastest animal known to man on earth.

Taxonomically, the beetles were traditionally classified as the family Cicindelidae but most authorities now treat them as the subfamily Cicindelinae of the Carabidae (ground beetles). The most recent classifications, however, have relegated them to a subgroup within the subfamily Carabinae, though this is not yet universally accepted; accordingly, there is no consensus classification for this group, at any level from family down to subspecies, and it can be exceedingly difficult to decipher the taxonomic literature surrounding this group. There are about 2,100 species known, with numbers ranging much higher or lower depending on the authority consulted.Very many were described by the German entomologist Richard Horn.

Tiger beetles often have large bulging eyes, long, slender legs and large curved mandibles. All are predatory, both as adults and as larvae. The genus Cicindela has a cosmopolitan distribution. Other well-known genera include Tetracha, Omus, Amblycheila and Manticora. While members of the genus Cicindela are usually diurnal and may be out on the hottest days, Tetracha, Omus, Amblycheila and Manticora are all nocturnal. Both Cicindela and Tetracha are often brightly colored, while the other genera mentioned are usually uniform black in color.

Tiger beetles in the genus Manticora are the largest in size of the subfamily. These live primarily in the deserts of South Africa.

The larvae of tiger beetles live in cylindrical burrows as much as a meter deep. They are large-headed, hump-backed grubs that flip backwards to capture prey insects that wander over the ground. The fast-moving adults run down their prey. Some tiger beetles in the tropics are arboreal, but most run on the surface of the ground. They live along sea and lake shores, on sand dunes, around playa lakebeds and on clay banks or woodland paths.

Tiger beetles have been considered as good indicator species and have been used in ecological studies on biodiversity.

Dear all,

I saw this flying insect when I walked up to the Peak of Hong Kong. I am not sure if this is an ant or other kinds of insects. I wonder if the experts at TN know the name of this insect...thanks much for the ID.

have a nice day!

Chrs,
Man Yee
gracious, pekkavalo1, cicindela, Kathleen, uleko, bobair has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

Hello Man Yee,
This is a Tiger Beetle of some kind.
I've never seen one this colourful before.
Our friend Radomir (cicindela) might be able to tell you which species it is.
He is the expert on Tiger Beetles.
A nice clear image with good DOF (depth of feld).
Good work :)
Cheers
Steve

  • Great 
  • red45 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2636 W: 74 N: 9091] (31094)
  • [2008-09-08 4:57]

Hi Man Yee!

Agree with Steve - Tiger Beetle for sure. Very characteristic beetle. Good POV and pose. Very well visible marks on insect's armour. Sharp, detailed and colorfull.

Hi
It is Tiger Beetle. You can ask Radek (cicindela) for ID. He is a Tiger Beetle specialist. Despite some sharpness problems great documentary shot of this beautiful insect
TFS
Krzysztof

Hi My!

One must imperatively open the thumbnail to appreciate the picture. Once opened, the surprise is very pleasant.The colours are amazing, very beautiful. And the insect is crystal clear and rich with details.

Kind regards

Markus

WOW... what a colorful design on this guy. Beautifully captured and documented. TFS.

Larry

  • Great 
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5038 W: 260 N: 15594] (50626)
  • [2008-09-08 5:57]

Hello Man Yee,
A superb macro of a colourful species of Tiger Beetle taken from a great POV to show the features with fine sharpness in a pleasing composition.
Thanks for sharing this beauty,
Cheers,
Ivan

  • Great 
  • efsus Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 415 W: 11 N: 843] (3947)
  • [2008-09-08 5:58]

Merhaba Man Yee!
Bu ne kadar ilginç ve harika görünümlü bir böcek karesi. Netlik ve detaylar enfes görünüyor. Eline sağlık.

Hüseyin

hi man yee,
the bettle is beautiful and colorful. good capture. you better change the title. tfs.
nagraj.v

  • Great 
  • jlynx Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 87 W: 7 N: 46] (455)
  • [2008-09-08 7:09]

Hello Man Yee,
Personally I cannot myself reckon the group of experts from insects. I think however that if you will ask for these, which show insects with spacious, with their descriptions then surely you will obtain the answer. The photo you performed very nice. Very good depth of the sharpness, superb colours and the contrast, very good sharpness. I think that this bloodless hunting succeeded!
Best regards from Poznan,
Jurek

the bettle is beautiful and colorful. good capture.

Jello Manyee,
Great macro shot with the sharpness, very nice colour and superb details on the subject!
the exposure and focus is spot on!
very well done
cheers
Tony

  • Great 
  • iti Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 577 W: 0 N: 650] (7939)
  • [2008-09-08 12:56]

Hello Man,
Very nice macro,very nice beetle.
Cheers
Jiri.

Hi Man Yee,
Very good macro shot of this Tiger Beetle with good POV and composition, sharp details and beautiful bright colours.
TFS
Pekka

Hello Man Yee!
This is a picture which I like to watch a lot - a photo with tiger beetle! :>
Species from your photo belongs to Cosmodela aurulenta juxtata (Acciavatti et Pearson, 1989). There are two subspecies of this species - presented by you and living in S China, E India, Burma, Vietnam and some regions of S Thailand, and the nominative one occurring from Malaccan Peninsula to the Indonesian islands.
Nice capture with good POV and details.
If you agree I would like to add your photo to my theme "Cicindelidae of the world" :>
By the way, if you are interesting in some more details about this fascinating beetle group, please feel free to look here, there is a link to 9 parts of my tiger beetle saga :>
Best greetings from Poland!
Radomir

Hi ManYee.
Beautiful colour, sharpness and detail on your beetle. Always hard getting detail on the shaded side but here you have done well with the exposue.

Kathleen

  •      
  • gannu Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 988 W: 4 N: 3277] (14761)
  • [2008-09-09 9:48]

Hello Manyee,
This is a very nice shot of this beetle and you have done it very well. Excellent sharpness and well presented.Ganesh smiley shortly

  • Great 
  • uleko Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3396 W: 172 N: 3310] (10940)
  • [2008-09-09 12:35]

Hello Man Yee,
This is a very fine capture of this beautiful Tiger Beetle from a fine point of view. Great focus showing it very sharply and the colours and markings are wonderful. Well done!
Many thanks and regards, Ulla

Hi Man Yee,
this sure is a colourful looking tiger beetle you have uploaded more so than the ones we have here where I live.Blue and orange work well with each other as this insect clearly shows,outstanding colour and well focused details bring out much in this photo.Thanks for giving us this view as it really is a cracker of a shot. Bob

Ciao Man Yee, superb beetle with fantastic colors, good focus, gret details and splendid sharpness, very well done, ciao Silvio

Hello MY.

Excellent macro, very good details and colors.

Regards.
jose Luis.

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