This color illustrated field and natural history guide treats all 107 known tiger beetle species found in North America above the Mexican border. Tiger beetles are among the most widely found and popular families of insects worldwide. Enabling amateur naturalists and professionals to use two identification methods--comparison of colored pictures to live or mounted specimens, and use of illustrated dichotomous keys--full biological accounts emphasize points for identification, behaviors, and habitats. Distribution maps show where various species and subspecies can be found. The authors promote a new and exciting activity of insect watching as an alternative or supplement to collecting (the general feeling among "butterfliers" and dragonfly and damselfly enthusiasts). Communicating primarily through the un-refereed journal Cincindela, (Tiger Beetler) specialists themselves prefer the term, "cicindelophiles." They represent an ardent sublet of the growing number of serious amateur naturalists who invest in outdoor activities seeking and identifying birds, butterflies, dragonflies, flowering plants, and various other forms of life.

1. The Magic of Tiger Beetles 2. How to Recognize a Tiger Beetle 3. Phylogeny and Taxonomy 4. Illustrated Keys to Adult Genera and Species 5. Identification of Tiger Beetle Larvae 6. Species Accounts 7. Ecology and Behavior 8. Biogeography 9. Conservation 10. Observing and Studying Tiger Beetles Selected Bibliography Checklist of the Tiger Beetles of the United States and Canada

David L. PearsonResearch Professor of Biology, Arizona State University, C. Barry KnisleyProfessor of Biology, Randolph-Macon College, Charles J. KazilekTechnical Director, W. M. Keck Bioimaging Laboratory

"The book exhibits the highest standards for field guides and should do much to further the authors' aim of raising the profile of tiger beetles as an important flagship insect group in North America. It is well produced and excellent value."--Journal of Insect Conservation |k No