Numbers
Uncommon through much of its range; a beautiful species.
Identification
Purple, greenish-purple, or green. Shoulder marking absent; middle marking does not reach outside edge of elytron; apical marking short.
The middle marking is curved, but not sharply elbowed as it is in C. limbalis.
Unfortunately, some individuals differ from the above description; there is a black morph, for example.
Forehead is hairy.
Range
Far southern Canada and much of United States. Absent from most of the southern U.S. and the Pacific coast (see
distribution map).
Habitat
Upland habitats with shale soils. Found in forest clearings, often along dirt paths through grassy areas.
See Also
In the
Green-margined Tiger Beetle (
C. limbalis), the middle marking is sharply angled or elbowed, not curved.
Internet References
Tiger Beetles of West Virginia (Stephen Creswell, West Virginia)
Tiger Beetles of Ontario (Steve Marshall, U. of Guelph, Ontario)
