Splendid Tiger Beetle (Cicindela splendida)
(My best shot at an ID)
Gram for gram, tiger beetles are some of the fastest and most ferocious predators on the planet. They feed on small insects, spiders, and other arthropods. They are fast, agile flyers, and are able to catch insects in the air, though they usually run down their prey and seize it with those sickle-shaped mandibles.
Splendid Tiger Beetles are a spring/fall species. The adult beetles emerge from pupae in the autumn and are active for a few weeks or longer, depending on annual weather conditions. As frosts occur and the weather cools, the adults hibernate for the winter. They emerge from hibernation during the spring and mate and lay eggs. Because they overwinter as adults they are one of the first species to emerge in early spring. C. splendida occurs on clay banks, powerline rights-of-way, dirt roads, and mountain paths. The individual above was photographed in our road.
Tiger beetle larvae are also predators, and have a lifestyle very similar to antlion larvae. They live in vertical tunnels in where they wait for ants, spiders, other other small creatures. When prey gets close enough, the larva pops out and grabs it.
(My best shot at an ID)
Gram for gram, tiger beetles are some of the fastest and most ferocious predators on the planet. They feed on small insects, spiders, and other arthropods. They are fast, agile flyers, and are able to catch insects in the air, though they usually run down their prey and seize it with those sickle-shaped mandibles.
Splendid Tiger Beetles are a spring/fall species. The adult beetles emerge from pupae in the autumn and are active for a few weeks or longer, depending on annual weather conditions. As frosts occur and the weather cools, the adults hibernate for the winter. They emerge from hibernation during the spring and mate and lay eggs. Because they overwinter as adults they are one of the first species to emerge in early spring. C. splendida occurs on clay banks, powerline rights-of-way, dirt roads, and mountain paths. The individual above was photographed in our road.
Tiger beetle larvae are also predators, and have a lifestyle very similar to antlion larvae. They live in vertical tunnels in where they wait for ants, spiders, other other small creatures. When prey gets close enough, the larva pops out and grabs it.
