Monster tiger beetles belong to the Coleoptera family Carabidae, the subfamily Cicindelinae, and the genus Manticora, which contains about 14 species of giant tiger beetles, the more common of which are Manticora scabra, Manticora fabricius, and Manticora tibialis. There are subtle differences in jaw characteristics, larval characteristics and behavioral habits of different species, and the classification is more confusing.
The Great King Tiger Armor is a large tiger armor with a body length of up to 65 mm, a huge jaw, a brownish-black body color, grainy elytra wings, fine villi in the cloth, and a sub-metallic luster. It is found in southern Africa.
Larvae: 3 years old, the time of development is not known. A 50 cm long cave was excavated in the sandy soil, and ambushed in it to hunt insects passing by the mouth of the cave.
Sexual type II: The male has a large head and a well-developed jaw, which is used to hold the female's broad neck for mating (the female has a groove in the lower part of the anterior chest that can be coupled with the male's jaw), while being able to defend against other male interventions. Females, on the other hand, are smaller and have underdeveloped cephalothorax and mouth organs.
Male king tiger armor
Female king tiger armor
The great king tiger armor mating
Activity rules: The activity rules of the Great King Tiger Armor are in a double-peaked pattern, they mainly hunt in the early morning and sunset, and hide in hiding at other times. So it's not what people call nocturnal animals. This may be to reduce competition with other riflemen, such as Anthia and Termophilum.
Hunting behavior: Despite its large size, the King Tiger Armor behaves in a very similar way to the smaller Tiger Armor. It moves quickly, running fast and changing direction instantaneously, but they can't fly. These beetles prey on anything that moves, feeding mainly on surface arthropods, especially locusts, crickets, termites, and spiders. Unlike other tiger beetles, the great king tiger beetle has poor vision, and they rely mainly on their sense of smell when searching for prey. Once it smells the smell of its prey, it gradually becomes excited, biting it with its huge jaw, tearing it to pieces without exaggeration. I had seen it find and kill a large tarantula, and at first I thought the tarantula would resist, but after about two seconds, the tarantula was left with only a mass of abandoned debris and a small pile of legs. After the main body is eaten, the beetle picks up the legs from the ground one by one and eats them clean.
Concealment, summer sleep and hibernation: The King Beetle spends most of its time in caves. They usually find a hidden place under the stone, wood or grass, and then dig about one or more 30cm tunnels in a slightly inclined direction, most of which have turns at about 10cm from the opening. Except for going out hunting in the morning and evening, the rest of the time is hidden in the cave. In summer and winter they completely seal the caves, sleeping and hibernating deep underground until the temperature and humidity are right.
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