eastern North America
Fine-art photographic collection
Cicindela scutellaris lecontei
A North American sand tiger beetle in which populations can look green, blue, violet or nearly black.
About this species
LeConte's Tiger Beetle
Cicindela scutellaris leconteiHaldeman, 1853
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Cicindela scutellaris lecontei is a sand-associated form in the festive tiger-beetle complex. Colour varies dramatically, but the reduced pale markings leave large uninterrupted fields of structural metallic colour.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Coleoptera · Carabidae · Cicindela
Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15
eastern North AmericaBroad documented range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Deep, dry, open sand in dunes, barrens and sandy woodland openings.
Diurnal ground-running predator.
Predatory on small arthropods.
What makes this species remarkable?
Individuals can range through green, blue, violet and dark forms while retaining the same underlying body architecture and predatory behaviour.
The smooth, largely unmarked elytra act as broad optical surfaces, making colour differences more dramatic than in heavily patterned tiger beetles.
Larvae require open sand stable enough to hold vertical burrows, so vegetation growth or repeated disturbance can erase an entire local population's nursery habitat.