Common Name | Scientific Name | Notes |
Six-spotted Tiger Beetle | Cicindela sexguttata | a generalist typically found along paths in mixed or deciduous woods; common and widely distributed; adults primarily found in spring and early summer |
Festive Tiger Beetle | Cicindela scutellaris rugifrons | found in dry habitats such as loose sand with sparse vegetation; a spring-fall species; formerly uncommon and local, no recent records |
Common Shore or Bronzed Tiger Beetle | Cicindela repanda repanda | locally common; a spring-fall species but usually present through the summer; found mainly on fresh or brackish shorelines and on damp coastal bluffs |
Oblique-lined Tiger Beetle | Cicindela tranquebarica tranquebarica | a generalist species found in various habitat types including both sandy and clay soil; locally common to abundant; a spring-fall species |
Hairy-necked Tiger Beetle | Cicindela hirticollis rhodensis | typically found sand habitats next to large bodies of fresh or salt water; on the Vineyard found on many shorelines particularly ocean and sound beaches. Common to locally abundant; a spring-fall species; often exhibits reduced spots (maculations) |
Punctured tiger beetle | Cicindela punctulata punctulata | found on bare soil on dry hard-packed disturbed land; common; a summer species; will come to lights |
Clay Bank Tiger Beetle | Cicindela limbalis | found on sloping clay soil; uncommon and local, with no recent records; a spring-fall species. Threatened in Massachusetts |
Purple or Cowpath Tiger Beetle | Cicindela purpurea purpurea | Found on open sandplain areas, open hilltops, and occasionally coastal banks. Fairly common, occasionally even outnumbers C. tranquebarica, with which it overlaps strongly in distribution and phenology. A spring-fall species; a Species of Special Concern in Massachusetts |
Big Sand Tiger Beetle | Cicindela formosa generosa | rare to, at best, uncommon; found in early summer in sparsely vegetated habitats often with false heather, coastal jointed knotweed (Polygonum articulatum). Sometimes occurs with C. tranquebarica |
Saltmarsh or Margined Tiger Beetle | Ellisoptera marginata | found on mud flats at the edge of salt marshes on the bay side of barrier beaches and salt ponds; uncommon; a summer species |
Northeastern Beach Tiger Beetle | Habroscelimorpha dorsalis dorsalis | found only on white-sand ocean beaches with dunes that are free from vehicular traffic; a summer species; locally common on Martha’s Vineyard. Endangered in Massachusetts, Federally Threatened |