Green Tiger Beetle (Cicindela campestris)

Pound for pound, the Green Tiger Beetle (Cicindela campestris) is one of the fastest predators in Britain. This vivid metallic green hunter tears across sandy heaths and coastal paths at speeds that, scaled up, would leave a cheetah embarrassed.

Green Tiger Beetles favour open, sunny habitats - heathland, sand dunes, coastal paths, and chalky grassland - where they hunt small invertebrates on bare ground. They are active on warm days from April to September, sprinting after prey in short, rapid bursts before pausing, recalibrating, and sprinting again. This stop-start hunting style exists because the beetle moves so fast that its visual processing cannot keep up - it effectively outruns its own eyesight and must stop to relocate its target.

The larvae are ambush predators of a quite different character. They live in vertical burrows in sandy soil, their flattened heads flush with the surface, waiting for passing invertebrates to stray within reach. Hooks on the larva's abdomen anchor it in the burrow so that struggling prey cannot drag it out. It is a patient, economical hunting strategy that contrasts sharply with the frenetic adult. Two stages of life, two entirely different philosophies of predation - both highly effective.

Bugs is a collection of natural history illustration prints drawn from the insect world - beetles, flies, bugs, butterflies, and moths selected for the strangeness, beauty, and variety of their forms.

Each illustration is adapted from Simon Tyler's book Bugs, published by Pavilion in 2017 and subsequently published in French and Chinese. The series draws on the tradition of scientific natural history illustration - precise, considered, and attentive to the details that make each species distinctive.

Insects account for the majority of all known animal species on Earth. This collection is a small survey of what that diversity looks like.

All prints are produced to order on 250gsm archival matte paper using pigment-based inks, chosen for colour accuracy and long-term stability.

Each print is rolled in acid-free tissue and shipped in a rigid cardboard tube, sealed for moisture protection, ready for framing on arrival.

Large · 50 × 70 cm · 20 × 28 in

XLarge · 70 × 100 cm · 28 × 40 in

UK: Free · 3-5 working days

Europe: €8.50 · 3-7 working days · No customs charges

USA & Canada: $8.95 / $12.00 CAD · 5-10 working days

Australia: $14.00 AUD · 5-10 working days

Rest of World: £14.95 · 7-14 working days

All prints are produced to order and dispatched within 1-3 working days. Orders placed before 5pm GMT ship the same day. You'll receive tracking information by email once dispatched.

Orders outside Europe may be subject to local customs charges on delivery - these are the responsibility of the recipient.

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Returns accepted within 30 days. Email returns@axisophy.com with your order number and we'll provide return instructions.

Return postage is the customer's responsibility except where the print arrives damaged or there's been an error - in which case we'll arrange a replacement or refund immediately, no return needed.

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