Highlighted Species:
Six-Spotted Tiger Beetle
Cinidela sexguttata
Coleoptera: Cicindelidae
About:
Six-Spotted Tiger Beetles are fast-moving, metallic-green beetles found throughout the mid and eastern United States. They are active hunters and can be found on sunny forest floors soaking up warmth and searching for prey. Named for the white spots on their elytra, individual beetles vary and may have less than or more than six spots.
Adult tiger beetles are known for their bulging, compound eyes which can detect and track prey movement, and their long, cursorial legs for running and ambushing. Their large mandibles can easily grab small insects, spiders, and other arthropods. The tiger beetle has a two-year life cycle, starting underground. Larvae are predacious, and wait in vertical tubes to pop up and snatch passing arthropods.
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Images 2-3: Nat poses her tiger beetle manicure on a sunny, sandy trail, similar to where one might find tiger beetles resting in the summer. (Naterpillar, 2024).
Design Notes:
This manicure features a metallic green background, adorned with six white spots similar to C. sexguttata.
Resources:
Boggs, Joe. (15 April, 2023). “Zippy Green Beetles”.
Buckeye Yard & Garden Online- Ohio State University.
https://bygl.osu.edu/node/2119
“Cicindela sexguttata: Six-spotted Tiger Beetle.” (31 May,
2024). Nature Serve Explorer. https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.109109/Cicindela_sexguttata
Newton, Blake. (25 May, 2004). Tiger Beetles of Kentucky.
University of Kentucky Department of Entomology-
Kentucky Critter Files.
https://www.uky.edu/Ag/CritterFiles/casefile/insects/beetles/tiger/tiger.htm
“Six Spotted Green Tiger Beetle.” (2024). DNR: Indiana
Department of Natural Resources. https://www.in.gov/dnr/kids/animals/insects/six-spotted-green-tiger-beetle/
