Rainbow Bug
July 20, 2009
this is a bug we found wandering on the ground while playing with my son. Its colors were so brilliant in the sunlight that i captured it to get a better look. I think it is some kind of beetle because of its jaw…but its coloring is unlike anything ive ever seen. We live in east texas. Is this a common insect in this area? Thanks!
Intrigued in texas
East Texas
Carolina Tiger Beetle
Dear Intrigued,
We believe your gorgeous beetle is a Carolina Tiger Beetle, Tetracha carolina, based on photos posted to BugGuide. It is also called a Pan-American Big-headed Tiger Beetle. BugGuide also indicates: “Range Southern United States. In southeast: Virginia to Florida, Arkansas, Louisiana. Perhaps absent from Appalachians, though Brimley (1) reports it from Asheville, North Carolina. Also found in southwest, west to California. Habitat Sandbanks of rivers, pastures, open, disturbed areas. Often found near water. Nocturnal, found under boards, rocks, trash, etc. during day.”
¶ Posted 21 July 2009 § ‡ ° What kind of bug is this?!
July 13, 2009
Ok, we’ve been catching these things since i can remember and we’ve always called them doodlebugs, but after researching on the internet it seems that my family must be the only ones who call these doodlebugs! So, i’m just curious as to what they really are called. We always would catch these by sticking a long blade of grass or pine needle (anything long and slender) and wait for it to start moving and pushing back up and then just pull it up real fast and they would come flying out!
Also, when you touch them with something they will arch their backs real fast as if they try to stick you with whatever that hump towards the end of their body is. Is this some kind of stinger or something??
Thanks alot for your help!
Tim D.
Bastrop, LA
Tiger Beetle Larva
Hi Tim,
This is a Tiger Beetle Larva in the subfamily Cicindelinae. There is another insect commonly called a Doodlebug, and that is the larva of the Antlion. The method you describe for catching your Tiger Beetle Larva is almost identical to the method used by children to catch a true Doodlebug.
Tiger Beetle Larva Hole
¶ Posted 14 July 2009 § ‡ ° Green metallic beetle (?) love
Sat, May 30, 2009 at 4:40 PM
Hi Bugman, we found this handsome green couple on a sunny rock at Great Falls Park in MD (they were so preoccupied that they failed to even notice the garter snake we were watching mere inches away). I’m wondering if they’re borers of some kind since a large dead tree was nearby. Before they became engaged they moved very quickly and even ran over the snake’s back once or twice.Can you tell us what they are?–didn’t have any luck searching “iridescent green” and “metallic green” on the site. (Photo taken by Elizabeth Bouras)
Love the site and the new design. Thanks for your help!
Paula O’Keefe
Great Falls, MD, USA
Mating Six Spotted Tiger Beetles
Hi Paula,
This is a pair of Six Spotted Tiger Beetles, Cicindela sexguttata, a species with a relatively extensive range. According to BugGuide: “In the United States, found over much of the eastern and Great Plains states. Absent from the Gulf Coast area. Range continues into southeastern Canada.”
¶ Posted 31 May 2009 § ‡ ° Is this a Six-spotted Tiger Beetle?
Mon, May 18, 2009 at 1:30 PM
Hello,
I was digging in by backyard today when I came across this beautiful beetle. After looking through some Field Guides I guess it may be a Six-spotted Tiger Beetle, but on of them said that they usually don’t occur in Michigan. I was hoping you could shed some light on what I found. It seemed to have been underground next to a nest of larvae feeding on a mouse or rat i dug out.
O. Keller
Port Sanilac, MI
Six Spotted Tiger Beetle
Dear O. Keller,
We believe you have correctly identified your Six Spotted Tiger Beetle. According to the data on BugGuide, Michigan is firmly part of the range of the species.
¶ Posted 19 May 2009 § ‡ ° Tiger Beetles
Sun, May 17, 2009 at 4:32 AM
Hi Lisa Anne and Daniel, thank you for your generous remarks of 5/10. Central WY has been cool and uncharacteristically cloudy this spring, Lepidoptera seem less evident and other orders more so. These tiger beetles especially have stood out. Please correct my i.d.s where necessary.
Your site is still the best!
Dwaine
near Casper, WY
Green Claybank Tiger Beetle???
Hi Dwaine,
Either the Montana Field Guide website Tiger Beetle page has a dearth of photos, or there is something currently wrong with it. When we tried clicking Green Claybank Tiger Beetle, Cicindela denverensis, we get a message that indicates “No photos are currently available.” Upon turning to BugGuide, we see that your specimen appears to match the pictured specimen posted there. The Festive Tiger Beetle – Cicindela scutellaris scutellaris is also noticeably absent from the Montana Field Guide site, but is present on BugGuide, though the common name Festive Tiger Beetle is not indicated. The habitat is listed as “Commonly found in dry sandy habitats with sparse vegetation such as blowouts, dune swales, and roads.” Once again, your photo matches the subspecies of this species posted on BugGuide. The subspecies is found in Alberta, Canada which borders Montana.
Festive Tiger Beetle???
Finally, the specimen that you have identified as a Beautiful Tiger Beetle is not listed on the Montana site. It does not resemble the images posted to BugGuide. We would be more inclined to identify it as the Bronzed Tiger Beetle or Common Shore Tiger Beetle, Cicindela repanda, based on images posted to BugGuide. It is listed on the Montana Field Guide Tiger Beetle page, but once again, “No photos are currently available.” We really believe a true expert in the genus is needed for positive identifications of Tiger Beetles, but we will post our tentative identifications nonetheless. Thanks Dwaine for your wonderful photos. Posting this entry ate up our allotted web time today and we have chores to attend to now.
Bronzed Tiger Beetle???
¶ Posted 17 May 2009 § ‡ ° Turquoise colored beetle
Mon, Apr 27, 2009 at 8:23 AM
On Saturday 4/25/09 at 11:30 A.M. while hiking in the decidious woods of the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois, I saw this pretty beetle sitting on a log by itself in the middle of an upland woods. It did exhibit any unusual behavior and it just sat there letting me take this picture.
Can you tell me what this is ?
The temp in the woods was 80 degrees and clear, with very little humidity
Kevin
Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois
Six Spotted Tiger Beetle
Hi Kevin,
This is a Tiger Beetle in the genus Cicindela. We believe it is a Six Spotted Tiger Beetle, Cicindela sexguttata, even though your photo reveals eight spots. This is a variable species and we did locate one image on BugGuide with markings nearly identical to your individual. Tiger Beetles are fierce predators. Several species of Tiger Beetles are endangered because of habitat loss.
Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 5:17 AM
Hi Daniel,
Thanks very much for the identification….very interesting. It does seem
to me that I have seen a few of these before, and always in deep woods.
They must prefer deep woods. As far as habitat loss, at least the woods
where I saw this one is an 80-acre tract of woods that has been in my family
for 20 years and will probably remain in the family.
Thanks again.
Kevin
¶ Posted 28 April 2009 § ‡ ° Hi
I am an American in Japan and thought you’d be interested in seeing what the tiger beetles here look like. They’re called hanmyou here.
I also included photos of a bagworm called a minomushi which means “straw raincoat”. They are a favorite of children here.
Melody McFarland
Yokosuka, Japan
Hi Melody,
Thank you for sending us your wonderful images as well as the language lesson. The jaws on that Hanmyou Tiger Beetle are quite formidable.
¶ Posted 09 December 2006 § Bagworm ‡ ° Let’s I.D.this one that whines when picked up
Bugman,
I’ve got another one for you, I have looked all around your beetle pages and can’t seem to id this one. When It was picked up it may a noise like a crying baby and once again we need you assistance to identify it. I thought it may be some type of stag beetle because of the jaws, but it just isn’t the right color. Thanks again, Tiffany
Hi Tiffany,
We thought this looked like one of the ground beetles, but we checked with Eric Eaton for a second opinion. Here is his response: “Well, yes, this is a carabid….sort of:-) Depends on whether you still consider tiger beetles a separate family! This looks to be a specimen of Megacephala virginica. If it has ivory marks on the tips of the wing covers then it is M. carolina. Yes, they are cool!” Tiger Beetles belong to the Family Cicindelidae and they are voracious hunters that prey on many injurious insects.
Update (08/22/2006)
Hello Lisa Anne and Daniel, I recently came across your website and I was pleased to see such a vibrant (and well-done) site. I’m an entomologist and evolutionary biologist (specializing on the systematics, taxonomy and evolution of tiger beetles and their close relatives) and I have to say that I’m impressed with your accuracy rate! It’s much, much better than other comparable sites I’ve come across over the years. The two of you must really love insects. In any case, I noticed that you are open to information from specialists, so I thought I’d give you a few ID’s of species that I came across on your pages. I was having trouble sleeping, so I went through all of the tiger beetles, scaratines, etc and checked them out. Here you go: I’ll bookmark your site and check it out when I’m having trouble sleeping again!
This is indeed a Megacephala (Tetracha) species, but actually M. carolina. You can most easily tell the two US species of Megacephala apart by coloration. M. carolina has a rainbow-colored back… red, green, and unpigmented cream-colored areas at the tip of the back (elytra). M. virginica is much bigger (17-22 mm) and is entirely dark metallic black-green on the back except for the cream-colored markings. It also has a noticeably rougher texture. Hope that helps! The whine is called “stridulation” and often occurs when some species of insects are picked up (a number of insects do this). And yes, the majority of professional insect systematists recognize tiger beetles as a subfamily/supertribe within the Carabidae. Nice photo!
Daniel P. Duran
Dept. of Biological Sciences
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
¶ Posted 13 June 2005 § ‡ ° 
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