Six-Spotted Tiger Beetle

Six-spotted tiger beetles (Cicindela sexguttata) are zipping around forest trails in Ohio. During our weekly BYGL Zoom Inservice this past Tuesday, Curtis Young (OSU Extension, Van Wert County) reported seeing adults out and about in northwest Ohio and I’ve been spotting beetles in the southwest part of the state.

The name “scorpionfly” sounds like a dangerous combination. Like some freakish creature buzzing out of the Upside Down or lurking in a Jurassic dominion. Of course, scorpionflies aren’t flies with scorpion stingers just like pineapples aren’t apples growing on pines. The contractions tell a story; pineapples were so named because they resemble pine cones.

I recently received three e-mail messages asking for an identification of emerald green beetles out and about in Ohio forests. They were spotted are six-spotted tiger beetles; one of my favorite native predators. Their common name is well justified as these tiny "tigers" hunt, kill, and eat other insects.

I spotted one of my favorite insect predators darting about on a forest trail yesterday: six-spotted tiger beetles. Their common name is well justified as these tiny "tigers" hunt, kill, and eat other insects. They are equipped with huge eyes for excellent eyesight, long legs for agile speed, and huge mandibles for grabbing prey.

I spotted one of my favorite insect predators darting about on forest trails yesterday: Six-Spotted Tiger Beetles. Their common name is well justified as these tiny "tigers" hunt, kill, and eat other insects. They are equipped with huge eyes for excellent eyesight, long legs for agile speed, and huge mandibles for grabbing prey.

My good friend Brad Bonham told me about a conversation she had with a landscaper over the weekend who declared they were seeing Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) (EAB) beetles mating in a woodland in southwest Ohio. Of course, as she noted, it's way too early for EAB adults to be on the wing; full bloom of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is a good phenological indicator for EAB adult emergence.