Cicindela campestris
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
Cicindela campestris, commonly called the green tiger beetle, is a widespread Eurasian species of tiger beetle. It is the type species of the large genus Cicindela. Adults are typically 12–15 millimetres (0.47–0.59 in) long. The elytra and thorax are green, varying in tone from light to dark, spotted with cream-coloured patches, and in bright sunlight are somewhat iridescent. The eyes are blackish; the legs are brown with whitish hairs. The antennae are long and straight, not clubbed.
The adults are sun-loving. They live in places with dry soils (sandy or chalky), mostly between May and October at the latitude of Britain. Like other tiger beetles, they run fast on their long legs and are most often seen on bare ground, in Britain typically on heather moorland. They can fly fast, making a loud buzzing noise. It can run at speeds of 60 cm per second.
Cicindela campestris is distributed across Europe from Spain in the southwest to Finland in the northeast. Most records are from the UK, Germany, Austria and the south of Sweden. In Britain, records are mainly from dry sandy or heathy areas such as the heathlands of Surrey, Hampshire and Dorset... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Hohe Tauern National Park | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 4 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 7 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 8 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 9 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 10 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 11 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 12 | Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 13 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 14 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 15 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 16 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Green Tiger Beetle sighting in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, based on 91 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 9th most-seen of the 300 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April to June
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Green Tiger Beetle in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to March, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Green Tiger Beetle sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 16 parks where we can rate Green Tiger Beetle sightings, Cairngorms National Park ranks 2nd at about 30%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Aigüestortes National Park (Spain, about 30%).
Same family: Carabidae
The closest relatives of the Green Tiger Beetle that you can see in Cairngorms National Park (family Carabidae, Ground Beetles) are Smooth Ground Beetle (about 30%), Rough Violet Ground Beetle (about 20%) and Violet Ground Beetle (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Green Tiger Beetle is recorded against all the insects logged in Cairngorms National Park (91 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
