Catching tigers

[Dak.the.bug]

Hello everyone! 

I am looking for some advice on catching tiger beetles. I believe the ones we have here in Maine are C.sexguttata if that helps. 

[Ratmosphere]

I usually bring long butterfly nets to sandy arid areas. They are usually found in that sort of climate.

[Dak.the.bug]

29 minutes ago, Ratmosphere said:

I usually bring long butterfly nets to sandy arid areas. They are usually found in that sort of climate.

I see them a lot at my parents house, which is in the woods. Do you think going to a sandy beach area would yield better results?

[Ratmosphere]

I'm not too sure about beaches. Usually around powerlines where it's dry is where I have the best of luck. 

[Dak.the.bug]

2 hours ago, Ratmosphere said:

I'm not too sure about beaches. Usually around powerlines where it's dry is where I have the best of luck. 

Okay. I will have to check some out, thank you. 

[ruislerez]

I always find them basking on logs where its really bright, usually in a clearing next to a stream on sunny days. We have a wildflower reserve in my town that is quite literally crawling with them.

Low tech method: I usually open a sandwich bag and put some taffy or jolly rancher in it, then place it on a log where there is observed hunting activity; these guys all tend to be in the same area hunting. Some will fly away initially, but little flies will be attracted to the bag, which is their prey. I usually come back to like at least 3 or 4 inside the bag (its much warmer in there + the food), and then I just seal it before they can exit. Works everytime, sometimes I dont even need the candy or flies, they bite down on the baggie and I just pick them off and throw em in.

Either that, or I just catch em with my hands lol

 

[JKim]

What tiger beetles are you collecting? Different species, different methods available. if you are collecting any Megacephalini, then pitfall trapping works great. They are flightless. I once collected over 40 specimens of Tetracha carolina in a single day with two small pitfall traps. Anything Cicindelini, you will have to run around with butterfly net, at least 3 ft long or longer. Anything too short, they will quickly fly away when you make an approach, especially when you are not very experienced in collecting tigers.

I'm not a serious tiger beetle collector at all, but up until now, I've collected: Tetracha carolina, Tetracha virginica, Cicindela repanda, Cicindelidia trifasciata, Cicindela sexguttata, Ellipsoptera lepida, ...  It looks like there was some revisions in genus Cicindela as Bugguide has changed whole lot of things there.

Both T. carolina and T. virginica can be collected with pitfall and light traps. All others, I collected with light traps and butterfly nets.

[Dak.the.bug]

On 5/3/2019 at 1:39 AM, JKim said:

What tiger beetles are you collecting? Different species, different methods available. if you are collecting any Megacephalini, then pitfall trapping works great. They are flightless. I once collected over 40 specimens of Tetracha carolina in a single day with two small pitfall traps. Anything Cicindelini, you will have to run around with butterfly net, at least 3 ft long or longer. Anything too short, they will quickly fly away when you make an approach, especially when you are not very experienced in collecting tigers.

I'm not a serious tiger beetle collector at all, but up until now, I've collected: Tetracha carolina, Tetracha virginica, Cicindela repanda, Cicindelidia trifasciata, Cicindela sexguttata, Ellipsoptera lepida, ...  It looks like there was some revisions in genus Cicindela as Bugguide has changed whole lot of things there.

Both T. carolina and T. virginica can be collected with pitfall and light traps. All others, I collected with light traps and butterfly nets.

According to inaturalist, the tiger beetle species we have here in Maine are cicindella species(10 sp), and I would love to try and acquire all of them. I would be really happy if I just caught C.scutellaris, but I'm not too picky.

[The Mantis Menagerie]

On 5/3/2019 at 1:39 AM, JKim said:

I once collected over 40 specimens of Tetracha carolina in a single day with two small pitfall traps.

Sorry to jump into this thread, but, @JKim, in what sort of habitat did you place the pitfall traps? I would love to find Tetracha tiger beetles, but so far, I have had no luck. If you have pictures of the traps, I would appreciate it. 

[JKim]

On 5/4/2019 at 5:12 AM, Dak.the.bug said:

According to inaturalist, the tiger beetle species we have here in Maine are cicindella species(10 sp), and I would love to try and acquire all of them. I would be really happy if I just caught C.scutellaris, but I'm not too picky.

@Dak.the.bug I'm sorry for the delays. I don't know if iNaturalist is a reliable source to see how many species occurs there, especially for Cicindelinae, or many potentially confusing groups. There are many professionals, but there are many crappy amateurs too, such as ones stating "I'm the first one to publish this record at here!"

In case Cicindela spp. you can hardly ever collect ANY with pitfall trap. Try get a butterfly net and go for it! Go search the sand marshals, bayou, or any water during the day. The most active time of the day is probably when it is hot hot HOT!! They love to run and fly near there nest. Probably sometime between 11AM to 3PM.

Attached is an image of Cicindela chiloleuca Fisher, I collected near an old salt field in South Korea. Many species in Cicindela, including C. scutellatis seems to love the salt marshes.

On 5/5/2019 at 12:15 AM, The Mantis Menagerie said:

Sorry to jump into this thread, but, @JKim, in what sort of habitat did you place the pitfall traps? I would love to find Tetracha tiger beetles, but so far, I have had no luck. If you have pictures of the traps, I would appreciate it. 

@The Mantis Menagerie I haven't collected Tetracha for years now. Probably a decade? They were never my favorite group, so I only collected couple times, and gave it all away to a colleague. The habitats I placed traps were near water or forest with river next to it. I don't know the details of Cicindelinae, but it seems there are different group for habitat. There are some species that can be found near water, while some species can be found without water present nearby. I happened to have some experience in collecting four or five species of Cicindela spp. in South Korea, and one found in heavily forested mountain (without any water nearby), while all others were found in salt marsh. The image attached above is one of it, collected at an old salt field. They never overlapped in habitat wise. (this is what I experienced from only couple collection trips, not multi-year researches).

Unfortunately, I have no pictures of pitfall traps still alive in my computer. All I use is a small cup (but in depth of over 2 inches) with little bitty of cheap red wine ($7-10). Don't have to pour in a lot of wine. Just a sip of it. like quarter inch depth of wine in a cup. If you are setting and picking them up daily, then yea. If you are picking them up every once in a while, then you probably need little more than a quarter inch of wine, but would not recommend it. Set them up where sunlight is fully or at least partially available.

[Ratmosphere]

Agreed. Butterfly net is much more effective and fun. 

[Dak.the.bug]

14 hours ago, JKim said:

@Dak.the.bug I'm sorry for the delays. I don't know if iNaturalist is a reliable source to see how many species occurs there, especially for Cicindelinae, or many potentially confusing groups. There are many professionals, but there are many crappy amateurs too, such as ones stating "I'm the first one to publish this record at here!"

In case Cicindela spp. you can hardly ever collect ANY with pitfall trap. Try get a butterfly net and go for it! Go search the sand marshals, bayou, or any water during the day. The most active time of the day is probably when it is hot hot HOT!! They love to run and fly near there nest. Probably sometime between 11AM to 3PM.

Attached is an image of Cicindela chiloleuca Fisher, I collected near an old salt field in South Korea. Many species in Cicindela, including C. scutellatis seems to love the salt marshes.

@The Mantis Menagerie I haven't collected Tetracha for years now. Probably a decade? They were never my favorite group, so I only collected couple times, and gave it all away to a colleague. The habitats I placed traps were near water or forest with river next to it. I don't know the details of Cicindelinae, but it seems there are different group for habitat. There are some species that can be found near water, while some species can be found without water present nearby. I happened to have some experience in collecting four or five species of Cicindela spp. in South Korea, and one found in heavily forested mountain (without any water nearby), while all others were found in salt marsh. The image attached above is one of it, collected at an old salt field. They never overlapped in habitat wise. (this is what I experienced from only couple collection trips, not multi-year researches).

Unfortunately, I have no pictures of pitfall traps still alive in my computer. All I use is a small cup (but in depth of over 2 inches) with little bitty of cheap red wine ($7-10). Don't have to pour in a lot of wine. Just a sip of it. like quarter inch depth of wine in a cup. If you are setting and picking them up daily, then yea. If you are picking them up every once in a while, then you probably need little more than a quarter inch of wine, but would not recommend it. Set them up where sunlight is fully or at least partially available.

I definitely have to agree with you JKim. I was hoping iNaturalist was more reliable than some others. I tend to ignore the ones where only one person has spotted one species, such as someone who apparently found a rhinoceros beetle here in Maine, but this person was the only one who saw it. 

I definitely know for sure that at least C.Sexguttata is here. I will definitely be using my new net for more than just catching snacks for my mantids now. 

[The Mantis Menagerie]

18 hours ago, JKim said:

@Dak.the.bug I'm sorry for the delays. I don't know if iNaturalist is a reliable source to see how many species occurs there, especially for Cicindelinae, or many potentially confusing groups. There are many professionals, but there are many crappy amateurs too, such as ones stating "I'm the first one to publish this record at here!"

In case Cicindela spp. you can hardly ever collect ANY with pitfall trap. Try get a butterfly net and go for it! Go search the sand marshals, bayou, or any water during the day. The most active time of the day is probably when it is hot hot HOT!! They love to run and fly near there nest. Probably sometime between 11AM to 3PM.

Attached is an image of Cicindela chiloleuca Fisher, I collected near an old salt field in South Korea. Many species in Cicindela, including C. scutellatis seems to love the salt marshes.

@The Mantis Menagerie I haven't collected Tetracha for years now. Probably a decade? They were never my favorite group, so I only collected couple times, and gave it all away to a colleague. The habitats I placed traps were near water or forest with river next to it. I don't know the details of Cicindelinae, but it seems there are different group for habitat. There are some species that can be found near water, while some species can be found without water present nearby. I happened to have some experience in collecting four or five species of Cicindela spp. in South Korea, and one found in heavily forested mountain (without any water nearby), while all others were found in salt marsh. The image attached above is one of it, collected at an old salt field. They never overlapped in habitat wise. (this is what I experienced from only couple collection trips, not multi-year researches).

Unfortunately, I have no pictures of pitfall traps still alive in my computer. All I use is a small cup (but in depth of over 2 inches) with little bitty of cheap red wine ($7-10). Don't have to pour in a lot of wine. Just a sip of it. like quarter inch depth of wine in a cup. If you are setting and picking them up daily, then yea. If you are picking them up every once in a while, then you probably need little more than a quarter inch of wine, but would not recommend it. Set them up where sunlight is fully or at least partially available.

Does your pitfall trap kill them? I should probably have specified that I am looking to keep Tetracha species as pets. 

[JKim]

7 hours ago, The Mantis Menagerie said:

Does your pitfall trap kill them? I should probably have specified that I am looking to keep Tetracha species as pets. 

@The Mantis Menagerie In that case, you should pour only a tiny bit of wine into the trap, and you have to pick up collections daily before the noon (to avoid heat) to keep them all alive. All my collections were alive when I picked them up. I don't recall collecting any of them in May, but started to be collected in June in Louisiana.