Corsica and nearby western Mediterranean localities.
Fine-art photographic collection
Calomera littoralis quadripunctata
A Corsican beach hunter that sleeps buried beneath the sand it patrols by day.
About this species
Calomera littoralis quadripunctata(Rossi, 1790)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Calomera littoralis quadripunctata is the Corsican form of the littoral tiger beetle. It hunts on sun-heated shorelines, then disappears into the sand at night and during unfavourable weather.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Coleoptera · Carabidae · Calomera
Accepted subspecies of Calomera littoralis. · checked 2026-07-15
CorsicaBroad documented range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
What makes this species remarkable?
In France this subspecies is restricted to Corsica, making the island's beaches the entire national stronghold for its distinctive four-marked form.
Adults are active during the hottest daylight hours but dig beneath the sand after dusk, turning the hunting ground itself into a night shelter.
During mating the male grips special grooves on the female's thorax with his mandibles, a mechanical lock that can hold the pair together for long periods.