Cicindela sexguttata
Copyright, Hays Cummins, http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/html/
Six-spotted Tiger Beetles
are fairly small, growing about 1/2 inch long. They are easy
to identify, with a bright metallic green body. The outer
wings, called elytra,
each have three to five white spots. Since the beetle has
two elytra, it could actually have a total of six to ten
spots. Legs and antennae
are also bright green. Six-spotted Tiger Beetles
can be found in open woods, and along paths and
streams. These beetles usually
live alone and only get together to breed.
They can be seen from April to August. Copyright,
Dr.
Jay Comeaux B. Newton,
2002 After mating, the male
beetle rides on the back of the female for a while, so it
can keep other males from mating with her. Female beetles lays eggs
in June or July. Each female digs holes in the ground and
lays one egg in each hole. She uses her ovipositor
to lay the egg, then covers up the hole with
dirt. When they hatch, beetle
larvae
(called "grubs")
burrow tunnels down into the soil. To eat, a larvae pops its
head out of its tunnel to grab prey.
It then pulls the prey down into its burrow. Tiger beetle larvae eat
ants, spiders, and other small prey it can grab.
Copyright, Hays Cummins, http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/html/
Each larva stays in its
burrow
until the following year. In July it changes into a
pupa
(resting stage). Pupae hatch into adults
in August. Adult Six-spotted Tiger
Beetles spend the day looking for food, then return to their
burrow (the same one they were a larva and pupa in) at
night. Adults also spend the winter in their
burrows. Copyright, Bob
Peterson
Copyright, Hays Cummins, http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/html/
Copyright,
Dr.
Jay Comeaux Adult beetles are fast
runners and fliers. When they fly, they usually stay within
three feet of the ground. Tiger beetles catch prey on the
ground and in the air. Six-spotted Tiger Beetles
eat small insects, spiders, and other arthropods.
Favorite foods include other beetles, springtails, sawflies,
caterpillars, flies, ants, and grasshoppers. Predators
of adult tiger beetles include birds, dragonflies, robber
flies, lizards, frogs, salamanders, and other small animals.
Predators of tiger beetle larvae include moles, opossum,
raccoons, skunks, hister beetles, ants, and
birds. This beetle's shiny body
helps hide it, since predators have a hard time seeing it
when the beetle is on the ground. It also defends itself by
releasing a bad odor. Certain types of
wasps,mites, and bee flies become parasites
of tiger beetle larvae.
