Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Cicindela trifasciata
Escarabajo tigre, Tiger beetle
Predator; known only on sand beach and mud flats in littoral zone; the species appeared following the El Niño of 1982-83, either as a natural or human assisted introduction; at UV lights; February-May. The species may have reached the islands as individuals attracted to lights on a ship. Studies suggest that this species may be displacing the endemic Cicindela species and that hybridization might be occurring.
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Coleoptera
Suborder
Adephaga
Family
Carabidae
Genus
Cicindela
Species
trifasciata
Taxon category: Accepted
Origin: Introduced - established
Year of first record: 1983
Mode of introduction: Accidental
Introduction Pathway: Stowaway
Subpathway: Hitchhiker on boats
Introduced status: Naturalized
Invasive status: Potentially Invasive
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: Santa Cruz
- Peck, S.B. (2006) The Beetles of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador: Evolution, Ecology, and Diversity (Insecta: Coleoptera) NRC Research Press, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 314 pp.
- Cassola, F. Roque-Albelo, L. (2003) The Larva of Cicindelidia galapagoensis (W. Horn, 1920) (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae). Lambillionea 103(2): 279-282.
- Causton, C.E. Sevilla, C. (2008) Latest Records of Introduced Invertebrates in Galapagos and Measures to control them. Galapagos Report 2006-2007, CDF, GNP and INGALA, Puerto Ayora, Galapagos, Ecuador, p. 142-145.
- Leffler, S. (2000) Note on the tiger beetles and their habitats in the Galapagos islands, Ecuador. Cicindela 32(3-4): 55-74.
- Cassola, F. Roque-Albelo, L., Desender, K. (2000) Is the Endemic Galápagos Tiger Beetle Threatened with Extinction? Noticias de Galápagos 61: 23-25.
- Cassola, F. Pearson, D.L. (2001) Neotropical Tiger Beetles (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae): Checklist and Biogeography. Biota Colombiana 2: 3-24.
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Cicindela trifasciata", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=5707. Accessed 28 June 2025.