Therates is a genus of tiger beetles found in South and Southeast Asia. A study of two species in the Philippines suggests that females tend to be larger with wider elytra width.
Therates
Therates basalis
Tiger beetles are a family of beetles, Cicindelidae, known for their aggressive predatory habits and running speed. The fastest known species of tiger beetle, Rivacindela hudsoni, can run at a speed of 9 km/h, or about 125 body lengths per second. As of 2005, about 2,600 species and subspecies were known, with the richest diversity in the Oriental (Indo-Malayan) region, followed by the Neotropics. While historically treated as a subfamily of ground beetles (Carabidae) under the name Cicindelinae, several studies since 2020 indicated that they should be treated as a family, the Cicindelidae, which are a sister group to Carabidae within the Adephaga.
Tiger beetle
Museum specimen of Manticora sp. from Mozambique.
The rare Salt Creek tiger beetle, Cicindela nevadica lincolniana
Cicindela goryi from India, showing the large eyes and mandibles