God’s Little Creatures – Tiger Beetle

Today I would like to share with you the interesting world of the Tiger Beetle.

October 14, 2015

Warren K Dick 1 minute read

These are large eyed predatory beetles that are known for their fast pace. They can run at an average of 53 of their own body lengths per second, or about 9 Kph, this makes it incredibly hard to photograph.

There are over 2600 different species of Tiger Beetles world wide, some can be quite beautiful to look at. Most Tiger Beetles live on the ground, tending to favour sandy areas, specially along river banks and even along the sea shore.
They are mostly seen scurrying around on the hottest days, seemingly immune to the heat of the sand, but because of their fast pace most folks do not get a proper look at them and write them off as being pesky little flies. They are very efficient little predators, catching any little insect they come across, including flies.

From what I have researched the babies of the Tiger Beetles are little grubs that live in burrows sometimes as much as a meter under ground.

The next time you are out on the hot sea sand, keep an eye out for these interesting little Beetles.