Tiger Beetles

     Over the years, I have seen several six-spotted green tiger beetles on bare paths in woods in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  They always ran quickly on long legs or flew low to the ground in front of me as I walked along those woodland trails.  And, although they are only three-quarters of an inch long, I could see they were an attractive metallic green.  Two species of tiger beetles are in this county- six-spotted greens that live in the northeastern part of the United States and beautiful tiger beetles that inhabit most of North America.
     Adults of all tiger beetle species are ferocious predators, like their mammal name-sakes.  They feed on small invertebrates of many kinds.  They grab their prey with their powerful, sickle-shaped jaws.  But they are no threat to us people, mainly because they are next to impossible to catch.  And if handled, their bites are weak against us. 
     Soon after hatching, the larvae of tiger beetles dig vertical burrows into dry soil.  There they  ambush prey that walk by the entrances, pupate in those shafts and later emerge from them in summer as adult beetles. The bodies of the larvae each form an S-shape in the hole, with their heads level with the soil's surface and their abdomens wedged into the hole with the help of abdominal bristles on one body segment.  That wedging makes them hard to pull out of their burrows, which saves many of their lives from the predation of birds and other creatures.  
     Six-spotted green tiger beetles are green all over, which allows them to be camouflaged in the greenery of woodlands.  Six small, pale-yellow markings on the edges of their wing covers help identify this species. 
     Green tiger beetles inhabit woodland paths where they catch invertebrate prey.  In summer, females of this species drop eggs singly on bare ground on shady trails in the woods. 
     Beautiful tiger beetles are brown on their heads, thoraxes and wing covers with pale-beige markings on the edges of those covers.  Those colors allow this type of beetle to blend into their surroundings of sandy or bare-ground environments with limited vegetation.  As the reader can see, these tiger beetle species live in different habitats, which reduces competition for space and food between them. 
     The related tiger beetles have much in common, including body forms, and being predatory as young and adults, though they are harmless to us.  They are a beautiful, interesting family of beetles that are hard to spot because of camouflage and tougher to catch.  But then they really should be left alone to live out their lives where they belong.