Flyer running
- Like other insect cases, it is also named “tiger” in some countries. Of course, there was no shortage of the ability to hunt that was expected with such a name! And that's right.
Cicindela campestris
GROUP: Invertebrate/Insect/Coleoptera/Carabidae
SIZE: 10-15 mm.
WHERE DO YOU LIVE? In Europe, Siberia and North Africa.
What do you eat? Other insects.
LEVEL OF PROTECTION Not protected.
Being an insect, it develops by filling the metamorphosis. In the larval phase it inhabits holes made on the slopes of the ground, and from there, as if a witch on the Txu-txu train were treated, it suddenly takes out and catches stupid insects that pass through the door of its nest. For this it has spectacular and terrible jaws for an animal of its size, of course… so stay quiet!
The large and long abdomen of the larva is an indicator of the energy it accumulates in this phase to fill the metamorphosis through food.
Adults are very sunny and from April you can often see them taking sun rays on dirt roads, concrete and cement. They are very fast and it is not easy to observe them closely, as they quickly escape flying or running. That's right, they don't go very far, they're very terrestrial. We said running and saying that such a small animal escapes “running” to more than one, it will seem ridiculous to you, but… Attention! If in a second any of us could do almost 80 meters, what would we say? My God, how happy Usain Bolt would have been! Our little beetle is able to fill its length 40 times in a second. So, out of respect, my friends.
We have already mentioned the jaws, which are worthy of being explained. These sturdy, light-colored jaws not only serve to grab the dams, but also to keep the couple together during the plating. The male, being smaller, takes the female on her back to transport her “debalde”. Even in this difficult and complicated attitude, the couple is able to escape at full speed in the face of any danger that may arise.
Its green and metallic coloration is spectacular, like other caracids in your family, and some whitish spots are visible in your greenery. Her head looks like elongated antennas, and her body is shaped like a armor that goes from the head to the wing protective elitroes. It is an insect with thin, dark legs, although the hairs of the legs hide their clear colorations before our eyes. The whitish spots of the above elitros are surrounded by red, as are the edges of the elitros.
Two other species of the genus Cicinda were mentioned by Alonso and Bahillo in the Catalog of Coleoptera of the Basque Autonomous Community, published in 2019: Cicindela maroccana and Cicindela hybrida, both very similar to C. campestris, which today has merited our attention.
