Ohlone Tiger Beetle vs Jewel Desert Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Ohlone Tiger Beetle Jewel Desert Beetle
Scientific Name Cicindela ohlone Julodis cirrosa
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Carabidae Buprestidae
Size 10-12 mm 25-40 mm
Habitat Grasslands Deserts & Drylands
Diet Predators Wood Feeders
Regions Santa Cruz County, California, United States Africa, Middle East
Conservation Endangered Least Concern

Ohlone Tiger Beetle

One of the rarest tiger beetles in North America, known from only a handful of coastal terrace grassland sites near Santa Cruz, California. It has greenish-bronze elytra with thin white markings.

💡

Did You Know?

Described as recently as 1993, it is found on fewer than 10 sites totaling less than 50 acres, making it one of the most geographically restricted insects in North America.

Jewel Desert Beetle

A strikingly colorful jewel beetle with tufts of hair along its body. It inhabits arid Mediterranean and desert-edge scrublands.

💡

Did You Know?

Its iridescent coloring comes from microscopic layers in its exoskeleton, not pigments.