A male Monster Tiger Beetle (Manticora latipennis) killing one of his favorite prey items, a grasshopper (Humbe tenuicornis) [Canon 7D, Canon 100mm macro, 3 x Canon 580EXII]Things have been busy here in Chitengo, and I am struggling to find time to update the blog amidst the preparations to our upcoming biodiversity survey of the Cheringoma Plateau. But I simply cannot resist mentioning one of the most remarkable creatures that I have had the pleasure to meet in Gorongosa. Every biologist has a list of organisms that he or she is particularly keen on seeing at least once in the wild. My list is long, but a few days ago I managed to check off it Manticora, or the Monster Tiger Beetle.
With a name like this one would expect a rather extraordinary beetle, and one would not be disappointed. Named after a mythical beast with the body of a lion, head of a man, and the tail of a scorpion, the real-life Manticora may not be as monstrous, but it is nonetheless a stunning animal. It is the world’s largest tiger beetle (Cicindelinae), with a robust, heavily sclerotized body that easily reaches 65 mm in length. Its head, especially that of the male, is equipped with a pair of mandibles that would not look out of place on a stag beetle but, unlike the mostly ritualistic function of large mandibles in stag beetles, those of Maticora are very much functional.
The mandibles of a male Manticora latipennis are truly impressive. In addition to catching and killing prey, males use them hold and guard a female during copulation. [Canon 6D, Canon 16-35mm + an extender, 3 x Canon 580EXII]Despite its size Manticora behaves in a way quite similar to smaller tiger beetle species. Its movements are agile, and it can run like hell and change direction in a split of a second; they cannot fly, however. These beetles hunt anything that moves, although prefer orthopterans, but unlike other tiger beetles it appears that the sense of smell rather than vision is their main tool for locating their victims. Once prey is located the beetle clasps it with its enormous mandibles and literally chops it to pieces. I watched it find and kill a large wolf spider – at first I thought that the spider would put up a fight, but about two seconds later what was left of the spider was a nicely masticated ball of tissue and a small pile of legs. After the main body was consumed the beetle picked the legs, one by one, off the ground and ate them, too. Interestingly, the beetle, which was a male and thus his mandibles ware particularly large, used its maxillae rather than the mandibles to pick up the leftover bits of prey, a behavior I have not seen before in a beetle.
A spider found by Manticora did not stand a chance – in a couple of seconds all that was left of the animal was a pile of body parts. [Canon 6D, Canon 16-35mm + an extender, Canon MT-24EX twin light]Manticoras have a bimodal pattern of activity, hunting mostly early in the morning, and then again around sunset and, contrary to a frequently repeated misconception, they are not nocturnal. This is likely because of the competition from other, mostly nocturnal ground beetles (Anthia and Termophilum), which are also common here.
A male Manticora with prey [Canon 7D, Canon 100mm macro, 3 x Canon 580EXII]The discovery of Manticora in Gorongosa has also solved a small mystery for me. About a week ago I witnessed a strange sight – a very large antlion of the genus Palpares, an insect the size of a small bird, was slowly disappearing, head first, into a perfectly round hole in the ground. That just did not compute, and I had to see what was causing this behavior. I tried to pull the antlion out and something pulled back. But the mystery animal’s strength was no match for my mighty human strength, and I freed the antlion, but not before catching a glimpse of a large, flat head about the size and shape of a penny, disappearing deep into the perfectly vertical tunnel in the ground. Tiger beetles have larvae that behave in exactly this way, and now I am convinced that I stole the prey from a Manticora larva. Next time I see a similar tunnel I will try to find the larva and photograph it.
I have read in several places that the male Mantcora’s enormous mandibles are not good at catching prey – not true, they are excellent killing devices! [Canon 6D, Canon 16-35mm + an extender, 3 x Canon 580EXII]
Hi Piotr – great pics of one of our most amazing southern African mini-beasts!
I am intrigued by your comment on timing of activity, having also read similar observations by Oberprieler & Arndt (2000), as during a survey early this year in Limpopo Province, South Africa, while searching for scorpions, we found three Manticora specimens between 20:23 and 20:26 on 29th January, just two nights after new moon. This seems to contradict Oberprieler & Arndt, as it was a full hour and a half after sunset on a moonless night and hence completely dark (I nearly stepped on a puffadder a few minutes later and would have had it not hissed in time). I will need to keep a look-out for similar observations in future, as though this does not indicate that they are fully nocturnal, I think this certainly supports the view that they are at least crepuscular…sometimes, at least!
I love Mozambique Diary: Manticora | The Smaller
Majority by Piotr Naskrecki
Admiring the commitment you put into your website and
detailed information you provide. It’s nice to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t
the same out of date rehashed material. Wonderful read!
I’ve saved your site and I’m adding your RSS feeds to my Google account.
Yikes! That description of the beetle dismantling the wolf spider reminded me of this passage from Gummere’s translation of “Beowulf”, describing the final attack by the monster Grendel: Straightway he siezed a sleeping warrior for the first, and tore him asunder,
the boneframe bit, drank blood in streams, swallowed him piecemeal:
swiftly thus the lifeless corse was clear devoured, e’en hands and feet.
By the way, using the maxillae to manipulate small bits of prey is common in trapjaw ants, too, as you describe for this beetle.
Another great story and fabulous images. Every one of your blogs brings back a memory of the times I was in Gorongosa and had the privilege to meet up with these same creatures.
Fabulous photos, as usual. I’d love to know what other creatures you are ” particularly keen on seeing at least once in the wild. ” I can’t imagine you’d ever find yourself with a dearth of blog material, but if you do, that’s my request for a post!
![A male Monster Tiger Beetle (Manticora latipennis) killing one of his favorite prey items, a grasshopper (Humbe tenuicornis) [Canon 7D, Canon 100mm macro, 3 x Canon 580EXII]](https://sixlegsphoto.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/manticora7.jpg)
![The mandibles of a male Manticora latipennis are truly impressive. In addition to catching and killing prey, males use them hold and guard a female during copulation. [Canon 6D, Canon 16-35mm + an extender, 3 x Canon 580EXII]](https://sixlegsphoto.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/manticora3.jpg)
![A spider found by Manticora did not stand a chance – in a couple of seconds all that was left of the animal was a pile of body parts. [Canon 6D, Canon 16-35mm + an extender, Canon MT-24EX twin light]](https://sixlegsphoto.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/manticora6.jpg)
![A male Manticora with prey [Canon 7D, Canon 100mm macro, 3 x Canon 580EXII]](https://sixlegsphoto.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/manticora10.jpg)
![I have read in several places that the male Mantcora's enormous mandibles are not good at catching prey – not true, they are excellent killing devices! [Canon 6D, Canon 16-35mm + an extender, 3 x Canon 580EXII]](https://sixlegsphoto.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/manticora8.jpg)
The Smaller Majority 
Hi Piotr – great pics of one of our most amazing southern African mini-beasts!
I am intrigued by your comment on timing of activity, having also read similar observations by Oberprieler & Arndt (2000), as during a survey early this year in Limpopo Province, South Africa, while searching for scorpions, we found three Manticora specimens between 20:23 and 20:26 on 29th January, just two nights after new moon. This seems to contradict Oberprieler & Arndt, as it was a full hour and a half after sunset on a moonless night and hence completely dark (I nearly stepped on a puffadder a few minutes later and would have had it not hissed in time). I will need to keep a look-out for similar observations in future, as though this does not indicate that they are fully nocturnal, I think this certainly supports the view that they are at least crepuscular…sometimes, at least!
I love Mozambique Diary: Manticora | The Smaller
Majority by Piotr Naskrecki
Admiring the commitment you put into your website and
detailed information you provide. It’s nice to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t
the same out of date rehashed material. Wonderful read!
I’ve saved your site and I’m adding your RSS feeds to my Google account.
Wonderful pictures and post.
Reblogged this on Mark Solock Blog.
Yikes! That description of the beetle dismantling the wolf spider reminded me of this passage from Gummere’s translation of “Beowulf”, describing the final attack by the monster Grendel:
Straightway he siezed a sleeping warrior for the first, and tore him asunder,
the boneframe bit, drank blood in streams, swallowed him piecemeal:
swiftly thus the lifeless corse was clear devoured, e’en hands and feet.
By the way, using the maxillae to manipulate small bits of prey is common in trapjaw ants, too, as you describe for this beetle.
Another great story and fabulous images. Every one of your blogs brings back a memory of the times I was in Gorongosa and had the privilege to meet up with these same creatures.
You will see them again soon, Bart! The sites we have selected are superb, full of life and unexplored.
Fabulous photos, as usual. I’d love to know what other creatures you are ” particularly keen on seeing at least once in the wild. ” I can’t imagine you’d ever find yourself with a dearth of blog material, but if you do, that’s my request for a post!
Your fingernails are way cleaner than mine.
Cool beetle.
Wowwwww! What an awesome huge tiger! A musclebound monster….
Are those hooks at the end of the maxillae? Might they be doing the disassembling whil ethe mandibles mostly hold the prey?
You should try to get some video footage of these! They are conveniently huge and diurnal.
Stunning shots of an amazing beetle and voracious hunter, not a beetle I had heard of. Thank you