Cicindelidae

There are about 2600 species of tiger beetles. They are some of the fastest running beetles in the world. Cicindela hudsoni can run at 9 km/h or 125 body lengths a second!

They are a subgroup of the Carabiinae family.

They are aggressive predators and have large bulging eyes, long thin legs and large mandibles. They live along shore lines and on sand.

The larvae live in deep pits and have large heads and a humpback which they use to flip over prey

The adults hunt by running quickly towards the prey ,then pause to visually reorientate (probably because they cant process vision whilst moving so quickly), and run with the antennae pointed horizontally forward to avoid obstacles.

Most are black in colour and nocturnal hunters, though some are diurnal and colourful.