> >
Home/ Cicindelini / Cicindela / Cicindela formosa gibsoni
partial LC subspecies medium ★ 5.3 Iridescent

Cicindela formosa gibsoni

Say, 1817

Common name: Big Sand Tiger Beetle

Tribe
Cicindelini
Subtribe
Cicindelina
Bioregion
Nearctic
Countries
2
Body length
14 mm
Habitat
coastal-sandy
Activity
diurnal
Wings
macropterous

Distribution

Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec), USA (Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina)

Coastal habitatBiome: Coastal sandy
Provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec +19 more

Flight period

I

Active June–September (peak Jul–Aug)

Similar to: Resembles Apterodela, Cicindelidia, Cylindera
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
XII

VI,VII,VIII,IX

Full data available to subscribers

Diagnostic characters, precise distribution, confidence profile, and subspecies data.

IUCN ↗ GBIF ↗ iNaturalist ↗ Wikipedia ↗

Living Book · World Monograph 2026

Genera and Subgenera of Tiger Beetles

240 genera · 3,715 taxa · 194-character matrix · 12 months free updates

Pre-order €79 →

Taxonomic notes

Original combination: Cicindela formosa manitoba (Say, 1817)

Data quality: 76/100  ·  Source: GBIF; Wiesner2020; matrix-morphology  ·  Verified by V. Štrunc · Audited: 2026-05-13

Frequently asked

What is the Big Sand Tiger Beetle? ▾
Among Africa's most specialized tiger beetles, Cicindela (Austrocicindela) haunts the bark and wood of forest trees rather than open ground — a rare arboreal lifestyle in the family. Nocturnal hunters, their larvae develop in burrows within bark. This small subgenus of four species represents a st
Where does the Big Sand Tiger Beetle live? ▾
It specialises in coastal sandy habitats. distributed across the Nearctic region. with records from Canada (