Tiger beetles are amongst the many beetles I like to scout and I wait forward to seeing them every yr. They are piece of cake to detect once you know their habitats and the time of year they are out and about. These predatory beetles are fast on their feet and are also amongst the quickest of the beetles to take flight. Walking forth open trails, y'all may see something fly off just ahead of where you were going and land not likewise far away. If yous don't become a practiced look at information technology, you lot may fault it for a fly considering both insects are quick to have off in  flying and because they are often found in the same habitat.

As of 1996, in that location were fourteen species of tiger beetles in Connecticut, seven of which are on the land'due south protected listing. They are members of the Carabidae family, which are the ground beetles. Like most footing beetles, the larval stage is spent in the ground and some tiger beetles have two years to consummate their life cycle. Most tiger beetles are found in habitats featuring low or thin vegetation and sandy soils. If you want to encounter adults in action, look for them on sunny days every bit most become inactive if clouds block the sun for any length of time.

To place a beetle equally a tiger beetle expect for three things- bulging eyes, long legs and crisscrossed mandibles that are formidable in appearance. When standing still, they have a distinctive posture where the head is upwards, the rear is down, and the trunk is held high off the basis on stilt- like hairy legs. These insects are built for speed both on the ground and in the air.

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Typical tiger beetle posture

A tiger beetle is predatory in both the developed and larval stage. The larva is an ambush predator, like to the emmet king of beasts, which lies in wait below the ground. It lives in a vertical tube in the soil and you may see its head just inside the tube every bit it waits for prey to canter on by. When that happens, the larva pops out and grabs its victim with its powerful jaws and and so pulls it into the burrow. Larvae tin survive for weeks without food and are likewise able to survive temporary flooding.

Adults take powerful sickle- shaped overlapping jaws which they use for capturing prey such every bit ants, spiders and other arthropods. They tin can catch prey both on the footing and in the air. They are so fast when pursuing oblivious ants that I have sometimes seen them overrun them and have to do an virtually- face. Their vision appears acute, and while they perch, they will suddenly plow in the direction of whatsoever movement. This tin can make information technology very difficult to arroyo them if you are trying get a closer await. A tip is to crouch down, with the lord's day ahead of you and then as not to bandage a shadow that will trigger flight. Then move slowly toward the beetle. Tiger beetles are also preyed upon by dragonflies, robber flies, birds, and small vertebrates, so they are outgoing to some extent.

Look for tiger beetles in open sunny areas that have low or sparse vegetation with scattered rocks and sandy soils. Some are found along woodland trails and wood edges. Once you accept found a tiger protrude, you lot volition probably be able to notice it the side by side year. Note the time of year and the exact surface area you saw information technology. They are reliably found, if not in almost exactly the aforementioned spot, and so within ten to xx yards of it.  If disturbed, about tiger beetles will fly only a brusk altitude away and may be establish by simply walking ahead in the direction you saw it wing. The developed may sit and await for some small insect to scurry by and and so use its speed to run information technology downwardly. Or it may run forrard and stop repeatedly as it checks out any promising activity.

There are several species in Connecticut that are of special concern. 1 is the federally threatened and state endangered species Cicendela puritan, the Puritan tiger beetle. This protrude is found in two pocket-size areas in the country-  periodically flooded sandy beach habitats along the Connecticut River and similar areas forth the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. The small expanse in Connecticut where this was found is now protected from human access both from the water and from land.

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Tiger beetle Cicindela repanda on my thumb.

Cicindela rufiventris is a species normally found in dry upland rocky and eroded areas but tin can also be found in areas of sparse vegetation such a trails , power lines or forest clearings. I accept found populations in several areas where stones have been brought in past the local governments or ability companies to help cease erosion acquired by both maintenance vehicles accessing the land and all-terrain vehicle activity that can crusade greater damage of a more permanent nature. Whether the stones helped keep the ground from being destroyed or simply allowed a ameliorate habitat for both larvae and adults to survive, rufiventris announced to be doing well in these areas. Look for adults in July and August.

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possibly a C. rufiventris as the abdomen merely showing below elytra is orange- red.

There is a small spit of tidal flooded land along the Connecticut River where the ferry comes in on the Glastonbury side where there is a big colony of Cicindela repanda tin be found. These common beetles are very like in appearance to the endangered Puritan tiger beetles. In Baronial there are hundreds of them running along the water edges and amid the rocks of this spit- the ground seems to come alive with their activity. When the tide is in, the area shrinks in size, and if you sit downwards on the sand, you will be surrounded by beetles rushing effectually. They even venture into shallow water to catch the flies that are abundant there. Take care not to pace on any of these industrious, beautifully patterned creatures.

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 Cicindela repanda August 2012 Glastonbury in sand at the ferry landing.

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Ct. River ferry landing area in Glastonbury showing tiger protrude C. repanda habitat. Picture taken at low tide.

I have establish the six- spotted tiger beetle, Cicindela sexguttata, year subsequently twelvemonth on the aforementioned power lines, forth the same gravel roads and in the aforementioned areas  bordering woodland edges. I look for them in mid to late April during warm springs, but normal action begins in early may. Adults are readily seen through July and sometimes into August. These beetles are vivid metallic green and have three white spots on each elytra. They can be found perched on logs and rocks or blank soil either in the lord's day or shade. Their bright colour will make them easy to spot if they take landed in whatsoever open area. A tedious arroyo is in club if y'all want to go close plenty to take a picture or just lookout man them for a while. If you lot lost sight of it, just walk on for a while, and if nothing appears, plough around and head back to where yous first saw it. Often it will accept circled effectually gone dorsum near where it was earlier.

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Six- spotted tiger protrude- Cicindela sexgutatta– found on a restaurant window in Cold Leap, New York June 28, 2011. The restaurant was surrounded past rocky cliffs and a large disturbed expanse bordering forest.

So side by side spring and summer if yous are out and nearly hiking along nature trails, power lines or dirt roads, be alert to the possibility of tiger beetles being on the hunt nearby. And don't forget to bring your camera! I would not accept had the opportunity to take any of the pictures you run into hither if my camera had been left at dwelling house ( or in the car! ).

Pamm Cooper                                                      All Photos Copyright 2013 Pamm Cooper