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Home/ Cicindelini / Cicindela / Cicindela purpurea
free LC species medium ★ 5.8 Iridescent

Cicindela purpurea

Olivier, 1790

Common name: Cow Path Tiger Beetle

Tribe
Cicindelini
Subtribe
Cicindelina
Bioregion
Nearctic / Neotropical
Countries
3
Body length
14 mm
Habitat
coastal-sandy
Activity
diurnal
Wings
macropterous

Distribution

Canada (Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick), USA (Arkansas, Louisiana, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, California, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama)

Coastal habitatBiome: Coastal sandy
Provinces: Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Arkansas, Louisiana +28 more

Flight period

I

Active April–June

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

IV,V,VI

Key diagnostic characters

DIAGNOSIS — Cicindela Linnaeus, 1758 Type genus of Cicindelidae. Body 8–18 mm, elongate-cursorial; head wider than pronotum; eyes large, protuberant; ground color metallic with white maculation bands.

Precise distribution

CA, MX, US

Confidence profile

geo:H|bio:H|morph:H|pheno:I|elev:I|obs:M

IUCN ↗ GBIF ↗ iNaturalist ↗ Wikipedia ↗

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Genera and Subgenera of Tiger Beetles

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Taxonomic notes

Original combination: Cicindela purpurea audubonii (Olivier, 1790)

Data quality: 77/100  ·  Source: GBIF; Wiesner2020; matrix-morphology  ·  Verified by V. Štrunc · Audited: 2026-05-13

Frequently asked

What is the Cow Path 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 Cow Path Tiger Beetle live? ▾
It specialises in coastal sandy habitats. distributed across the Nearctic / Neotropical region. with records
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