Description
Pre-order open · Publication 31 October 2026
The book is now available for pre-order, with publication scheduled for 31 October 2026. Your pre-order helps fund the production of this volume and supports the author’s independent publishing work.
No-risk guarantee: if the book has not been released by 31 December 2026, we refund your pre-order in full — no questions, no fine print.
Already a reader of the author’s previous work? Please contact Vladimír Štrunc directly at info@insect-books.com during the pre-order period for an individual price offer.
Iconic Beetles · Pre-order · Vol. 3 · ebook · EntoLibry
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 geographic journey.
Pre-order open · Publication 31 October 2026
The ebook is now available for pre-order, with publication scheduled for 31 October 2026. Your pre-order helps fund the production of this volume and supports the author’s independent publishing work.
No-risk guarantee: if the ebook has not been released by 31 December 2026, we refund your pre-order in full — no questions, no fine print.
Already a reader of the author’s previous work? Please contact Vladimír Štrunc directly at info@insect-books.com during the pre-order period for an individual price offer.
Important — please note before ordering
This is the Iconic Beetles ebook companion — a curated narrative volume at popular price (€19–29). It is not the comprehensive printed monograph Tiger Beetles of Africa (€129 hardcover). The two are complementary: the printed monograph treats every African Cicindelidae taxon in full taxonomic depth; this ebook selects iconic genera and species for a narrative geographic journey.
Pre-order pricing · Lock in the lowest price today
| Pre-order now | €19 |
| Rising to (mid-campaign) | €24 |
| Final retail (on publication) | €29 |
Pre-order pricing rises in stages as we approach publication. Your purchase locks in the price at the moment of checkout — and all future editions of the volume are included free of charge by email.
What’s inside
Selected genera treated in depth: Manticora (the giant flightless southern endemics, the largest cicindelids in the world), Lophyra (Sahel and savannah specialists), Mantica, Prothyma, Habrodera, Megacephala, African members of Cicindela, and additional regionally significant genera.
Featured iconic species: Manticora latipennis, Manticora scabra, Manticora tuberculata, selected Lophyra from across the Sahel, and notable representatives of the forest and savannah genera. Each species is profiled with habitat note, distribution, phenology, and field-identification points.
Bioregions covered (the book’s geographic structure):
→ 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 — geographically structured content maps to actual trip planning
→ Cicindelidae enthusiasts wanting a curated entry to the continent’s signature genera
→ University libraries and African biology programmes needing a regional reference at student price
→ Safari operators, field guides, and conservation organisations working in African habitats
Format and delivery
High-resolution PDF, DRM-free, delivered by email link upon publication. Compatible with all PDF readers on desktop, tablet, and phone. All future editions of the volume — content updates, newly described taxa, refined imagery — are sent automatically to your email free of charge.
Other volumes in the Iconic Beetles sub-collection
Cicindelidae of North America — Iconic Beetles, Vol. 1 · 74 pages · pre-order €19. Nearctic tiger beetles from eastern hardwoods to southwestern deserts.
Carabidae of Southern Africa — Iconic Beetles, Vol. 2 · 90 pages · pre-order €19. Ground beetles across Karoo, fynbos, and savannah — Anthia, Scarites, Brachinus.
Author and publisher
Vladimír Štrunc · Coleoptera taxonomist · founder of EntoLibry, Rožnov pod Radhoštěm, Czech Republic. Maintains the world Cicindelidae data matrix underlying this volume; the open companion database is published at world-tiger-beetles.com. Species described in his honour.



