Genus
Iresia
16 species
Hidden in the perpetual twilight of Amazonian rainforests, *Iresia* is a small genus of nocturnal tiger beetles that have abandoned the ground entirely, spending their lives on the bark and branches of tropical trees. These slender, metallic beetles — roughly 9–14 mm long — hunt by night on the textured surfaces of forest trunks, while their larvae develop within burrows excavated in bark. Distributed across northern South America, from the Amazon basin and Guiana shield into Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru, *Iresia* represents a remarkable evolutionary departure from the open-ground lifestyle typical of most Cicindelidae.
Diagnosis
DIAGNOSIS — *Iresia* (Iresia) Dejean, 1831 s.str. Body 9–14 mm, elongate-cylindrical (L:W 2–3); fully winged. Coloration metallic. Eyes medium. Labrum transverse. Habitat strictly arboreal: adults nocturnal on bark and branches of Neotropical forest trees; larvae in bark burrows. Mentum tooth moderate to large. First labial palpomere not markedly wider than apical palpomere (J03 = 0). Separation from *Palaeoiresia*: mentum tooth and labial palp proportions (see Notes). Type species: *Cicindela bimaculata* Klug, 1834 (by monotypy).
Etymology
From Greek mythology — Iris/Iresia, messenger goddess of the rainbow — referring to the brilliantly iridescent dorsum.
Species (16)
Distribution map — GBIF occurrences
GBIF · © OpenStreetMap · © CartoDB
Overview
Hidden in the perpetual twilight of Amazonian rainforests, *Iresia* is a small genus of nocturnal tiger beetles that have abandoned the ground entirely, spending their lives on the bark and branches of tropical trees. These slender, metallic beetles — roughly 9–14 mm long — hunt by night on the textured surfaces of forest trunks, while their larvae develop within burrows excavated in bark. Distributed across northern South America, from the Amazon basin and Guiana shield into Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru, *Iresia* represents a remarkable evolutionary departure from the open-ground lifestyle typical of most Cicindelidae.
Type species: Cicindela bimaculata Klug, 1834 [by monotypy]
1. Wiesner, J. (2020) — checklist authority 2. Dejean, P.F.M.A. (1831) — original genus description 3. Moravec, J. (2020) — Cicindelini Vol. 2 — definitive recent revision 4. Sumlin, W.D. (1994) — Palaeoiresia subgenus description 5. Dejean, P.F.M.A. (1831) — Species général des coléoptères. Tome 5. [original description of Iresia] 6. Moravec, J. (2018) — Taxonomic revision of the Neotropical tiger beetle genera of the subtribe Odontocheilina. Vol. 1. Odontocheila Laporte de Castelnau, Cenothyla Rivalier and Phyllodroma Lacordaire. Biosférická rezervace Dolní Morava, o.p.s., 623 pp. 7. Duran, D.P. & Gough, H.M. (2020) — Validation of tiger beetles as distinct family (Cicindelidae) and reclassification within Coleoptera. Systematic Entomology 45(4): 723-729. DOI: 10.1111/syen.12440 [validates Cicindelidae as separate family] 8. Gough, H.M., Duran, D.P., Kawahara, A.Y. & Toussaint, E.F.A. (2018) — A comprehensive molecular phylogeny of tiger beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Cicindelinae). Systematic Entomology 43(3): 567-586. DOI: 10.1111/syen.12324 [ML phylogeny of 328 taxa, 9 gene regions] 9. Wiesner, J. (2020) — Checklist of the Tiger Beetles of the World, 2nd edition (Verzeichnis der Sandlaufkäfer der Welt, 27. Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Cicindelidae). Winterwork, Borsdorf, 534 pp. [Authoritative current world checklist] +11 citations · full list in paid edition
Living Book · World Monograph 2026
Genera and Subgenera of Tiger Beetles
240 genera · 3,715 taxa · 194-character matrix · 12 months free updates