The new piperideine alkaloid cicindeloine (3) was isolated from the pygidial glands of the beetles Stenus cicindeloides and Stenus solutus. The structure and absolute configuration of 3 were elucidated by NMR spectroscopy and asymmetric synthesis, respectively. A very efficient gram-scale synthesis of 3 was developed using an intramolecular aza-Wittig reaction as the final step. The synthetic route is comprised of 12 steps and proceeds in 20?% total yield. Nine of the 12 steps were conducted without column chromatography.