Adults are approximately 10–15 mm long.
Fine-art photographic collection
Lophyra differens
An African tiger beetle whose males carry a mysterious brush on the antenna — a structure found in only a tiny fraction of the family.
About this species
Lophyra differens(W. Horn, 1892)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Lophyra differens is a widespread African tiger beetle recorded from Somalia south to South Africa and west to Angola. Males possess an unusual antennal hair brush known as a penicillum.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Coleoptera · Carabidae · Cicindelinae · Lophyra
Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15
Eastern and southern Africa from Somalia and Kenya to Angola, Namibia and South AfricaBroad range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Eastern and southern Africa from Somalia and Kenya to Angola, Namibia and South Africa
Open sandy ground, river edges, tracks and savannah clearings.
Diurnal visual predator.
Small arthropods.
Solitary.
What makes this species remarkable?
Males carry a dense brush of hairs beneath the fourth antennal segment — a penicillum found in only around thirty of more than two thousand tiger-beetle species worldwide.
The function of that brush remains unresolved: it may be sensory or involved in courtship, meaning a conspicuous male organ can be recognised and mapped even while its purpose is still unknown.
Its range crosses almost the full length of eastern and southern Africa, yet populations are identified by the same exact combination of elytral markings, antennal brush and male genital structure.
Sources and scientific references
- GBIF — taxon record/search for Lophyra differens
- Catalogue of Life — taxon search for Lophyra differens
- Kruger National Park survey — range and records for Lophyra differens
- Cassola studies on the rare male antennal penicillum in Lophyra differens
- Angola catalogue reporting Lophyra differens and broader distribution