The tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) of the Tambopata Reserved Zone, Madre de Dios, Peru
Revista Peruana de Entomología
1985
Journal Article
27
15-24
Explorer's Inn animals invertebrates arthropods insects beetles Coleoptera tiger beetles Cicindelidae indicator species distributions diversity large spatial scales recommendations inventories checklist field guide animal behavior Madre de Dios Bibliography
During a period of five years between 1979 and 1984, in an area covering 25 km-2 in the vicinity of the Explorer's Inn. Twenty-nine species of a group of predator beetles of the family Cicindelidae were recorded; these were recently recognized as a super-tribe (Cicindelitae) of the Carabidae family. Recent studies indicate that this group of beetles is suitable for the generalization of ecological experiments in the tropics, as they are well known taxonomically and are easily observed and managed in the fields, qualities which are even more evident in the laboratory. This contribution presents a list of species, a field key for their identification, and observations on the natural history of each species. The 29 species recorded up to 1984 in the TRZ make this place the tropical forest with the greatest wealth of tiger beetles in the world.