C.t.sigmoidea larvae in the soil.

C.t.sigmoidea pupa in the soil.
Posted by: tigerbeetle.

Cicindela trifasciata sigmoidea were never in large numbers when a survey was contucted of Mugu in 1982 by the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum. In 2003 very few - two to be exact - were found. They mated and this was one of their offspring. The larvae were robust and ate well. But because they were in captivity, and probably because their diet consisted of commercially grown fruit flies, they developed faster and went into pupation as smaller instars and were more prone to deformaties.

Within hours of shedding its outer skin, a transparent pupae emerges. Pigmentation begins the second day starting with the eyes, then the mandibles, then the legs and the elytra. Pupae, many times, lie under the soil in this configuration - on their backs.