Europe and western temperate Asia
Fine-art photographic collection
Cylindera germanica germanica
A tiger beetle that largely abandoned flight and now survives on a few warm cliff faces.
About this species
Cliff Tiger Beetle
Cylindera germanica germanica(Linnaeus, 1758)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Cylindera germanica germanica is a small European tiger beetle associated with hot, sparsely vegetated ground. British populations are exceptionally restricted and the beetle is unusual among local tiger beetles in being reluctant or unable to fly.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Coleoptera · Carabidae · Cylindera
Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15
Europe and western temperate AsiaBroad documented range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Open ground with sparse vegetation, including dry grassland, field edges and disturbed soil.
Diurnal ground-running predator.
Predatory on small arthropods.
What makes this species remarkable?
Some populations are completely flightless, turning roads, dense vegetation and development into barriers that cannot simply be crossed by air.
In Britain it survives on warm south-facing soft cliffs in only a handful of places in Dorset, Devon and the Isle of Wight.
The dark green body carries three pale spots on each elytron, a compact identification pattern on a beetle only about nine to twelve millimetres long.