Sunday, May 23, 2010

emerald tiger





Being a ten-year-old boy at heart, I always look forward to June and the appearance of the summertime insects.

This week, I got an early preview.

The metallic, emerald green, six-spotted tiger beetle is a tiny predator that lives up to its name: tiger. They eat small insects, spiders and snails. The males are also somewhat possessive of their females. It is reported that after they mate, the male rides on her back to keep other male six-spotted tiger beetles from entertaining her affections.

- Photo at Ijams Nature Center

2 comments:

Abhishek said...

Ohh so you're finally moving into Summers, Well tell you what we've had a very very hot summer this year. At times temp soared beyond 120F and June's gonna be no different. We'll have to wait till July for some rain and relief from scorching sun.

Hows the weather there?

Stephen Lyn Bales said...

Oh my gosh. 120 degrees. Ouch.

Aby. We're only in the high 80s here. Nights are pleasant.