Genus
Tetracha
119 species
*Tetracha* Hope, 1838 is one of the largest genera in Megacephalini, with approximately 102 species prowling forest clearings and sandy or clay-loam substrates near water across the Americas. These robust, metallic beetles emerge after dark, hunting under moonlight on bare ground. Larvae develop in moist soil burrows, betraying their intimate dependence on waterside habitats.
Diagnosis
DIAGNOSIS — *Tetracha* Hope, 1838. Body 10–20 mm, robust, depressed, metallic. Nocturnal–crepuscular. Broad Megacephalini head; Q05 mandibular autapomorphy. Sep. from *Megacephala* by New World range and aedeagal chars.
Etymology
From Greek *tetra* (four) + *chálkē* (a hue/copper) — referring to four-coloured/four-spotted dorsum; alternatively "four-fingered" (mandibular structure).
Species (119)
Distribution map — GBIF occurrences
GBIF · © OpenStreetMap · © CartoDB
Overview
*Tetracha* Hope, 1838 is one of the largest genera in Megacephalini, with approximately 102 species prowling forest clearings and sandy or clay-loam substrates near water across the Americas. These robust, metallic beetles emerge after dark, hunting under moonlight on bare ground. Larvae develop in moist soil burrows, betraying their intimate dependence on waterside habitats.
Type species: Cicindela carolina Linnaeus, 1767 [by monotypy (Hope 1838)]
1. Wiesner, J. (2020) — checklist 2. Hope, F.W. (1838) — original genus 3. Pearson, D.L. et al. (2015) — Field Guide USA & Canada 4. Hope, F.W. (1838) — The coleopterist's manual, part the second; containing the predaceous land and water beetles of Linneus and Fabricius. London, H.G. Bohn. [BHL: biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/9229] [original description of Tetracha] 5. Ward, R.D., Davidson, R.L. & Brzoska, D. (2011) — Tetracha Hope 1838 of the Turks and Caicos Islands. ZooKeys 147: 543-555. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.147.2104 6. Knisley, C.B., Kippenhan, M.G. & Brzoska, D. (2014) — Conservation status of United States tiger beetles. Terrestrial Arthropod Reviews 7(2-4): 93-145. 7. Bousquet, Y. (2012) — Catalogue of Geadephaga (Coleoptera, Adephaga) of America, north of Mexico. ZooKeys 245: 1-1722. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.245.3416 [comprehensive Nearctic catalogue including Cicindelidae] 8. 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] 9. 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] +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