Iconic Beetles · Pre-order · Vol. 3 · 2026

Cicindelidae of Africa

A curated journey through African tiger beetles · by Vladimír Štrunc

Africa is the global centre of Cicindelidae diversity. From the giant nocturnal Manticora of the southern savannah to the high-speed Lophyra of the Sahel, no other continent expresses such morphological and ecological range within a single beetle family. Selected genera across six African bioregions, treated as a connected journey.

€19 pre-order · rising to €24 · final €29 · all future editions included free

A note on the title: This volume — Cicindelidae of Africa, Iconic Beetles, Vol. 3 — is a curated narrative ebook companion. It is not the printed comprehensive monograph Tiger Beetles of Africa (premium tier, €59–136 print). The two are complementary: the printed monograph treats every African Cicindelidae taxon in full taxonomic depth; this ebook selects genera and iconic species for a narrative entry at popular price.

About this volume

Africa is where Cicindelidae do the most. The continent’s enormous latitudinal range — from Mediterranean coast to the southern Cape — combined with deep aridity in the Sahel, Karoo, and Namibian west, and contrasting humid rainforest belts in the Congo and West Africa, has driven the family into morphological extremes that have no parallel elsewhere. The flightless giant Manticora patrol southern African sand at night with mandibles a centimetre long. The Lophyra dominate Sahelian sandflats at midday, running at relative speeds among the highest known in any terrestrial animal. Mantica, Prothyma, Habrodera, and other localised genera radiate through forest understory, river edge, and rocky outcrop.

This volume is geographically organised by major African bioregions rather than by tribe. The reader follows the fauna across the continent: Mediterranean North Africa, the Sahel, West African forest, Central African forest, East African savannah and rift, the Karoo and the Cape. Within each bioregion, selected genera are introduced with morphological diagnostics; iconic species are profiled with field photographs, distribution maps, phenology, habitat detail, and behaviour notes drawn from primary literature and direct observation.

As the largest of the three launch volumes (~150 pages), this is also the most comprehensive in field coverage. It is designed to function both as standalone reading and as a practical companion to African safari and collecting itineraries.

What’s inside

Selected genera treated in depth: Manticora (the giant flightless southern endemics), Lophyra (Sahel and savannah specialists), Mantica, Prothyma, Habrodera, Megacephala (where treated as distinct from Tetracha), Cicindela (African members), and additional regionally significant genera.

Featured iconic species (selection): Manticora latipennis and Manticora scabra (giant southern African Manticora), Manticora tuberculata, selected Lophyra from across the Sahel, and notable representatives of the forest and savannah genera. Each species treatment includes field photograph, habitat note, distribution, phenology, and field-identification points.

Bioregions covered (geographic structure of the book):

→ North Africa — Mediterranean coast, Atlas, North Saharan margin

→ Sahel — semi-arid belt from the Atlantic to the Horn

→ West African forest — Guinean forest and adjacent transitional zones

→ Central African forest — Congo basin and Albertine rift margins

→ East African savannah and rift — including Lake Victoria basin

→ Southern Africa — Karoo, Cape fynbos, Namibian arid west, Lowveld

Who this volume is for

→ Field entomologists and photographers with African itineraries — the geographically structured content maps to actual trip planning.

→ Cicindelidae enthusiasts wanting an accessible curated entry to the continent’s signature genera before tackling primary literature.

→ University libraries and African biology programmes needing a regional reference accessible at student price.

→ Safari operators, field guides, and conservation organisations working in African dry and humid habitats.

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Pre-order pricing rises in stages as we approach publication. All future editions of the volume are included free of charge.

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Recommended citation

Štrunc, V. (2026). Cicindelidae of Africa. Iconic Insects — Iconic Beetles, Vol. 3. EntoLibry, Rožnov pod Radhoštěm. ISBN [to be assigned].

MARC 21 record and institutional licensing available on request.

About the author and publisher

Vladimír Štrunc is a Coleoptera taxonomist and the founder of EntoLibry, an independent academic publisher based in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm, Czech Republic. He maintains an active research database of world Cicindelidae taxonomy and distribution; the open companion is published at world-tiger-beetles.com, with full coverage of the African fauna alongside the rest of the world. Species have been described in his honour. This volume draws on two decades of accumulated field experience, photographic archives, and primary literature on African Cicindelidae.

Other volumes in this sub-collection

Cicindelidae of North America — Iconic Beetles, Vol. 1 · 74 pages · pre-order €19

Carabidae of Southern Africa — Iconic Beetles, Vol. 2 · 90 pages · pre-order €19

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