A close inspection revieals two ants on one of its legs. Cicindela hybrida.
Northern Dune Tiger Beetle / Cicindèle Hybride by Dr Wood's Wildlife Photos
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A close inspection revieals two ants on one of its legs. Cicindela hybrida.
Cicindela hybrida.
Cicindela hybrida.
On a small logging road, me and Daniel (my son) found two of these wood tiger beetles (Cicindela sylvatica), also known as the heath tiger beetle.
They really aren't fans of having their portrait taken so getting my shots meant we had to combine some serious ninja sneaking and some excellent spotting and running by Daniel when they took off and flew five meters and landed somewhere else on the road.
These beetles are predators and hunt by running faster than most other bugs and grabbing their prey with those large mandibles.
Part 1 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53917002544/
Part 2 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/54080575174/
On a small logging road, me and Daniel (my son) found two of these wood tiger beetles (Cicindela sylvatica), also known as the heath tiger beetle.
They really aren't fans of having their portrait taken so getting my shots meant we had to combine some serious ninja sneaking and some excellent spotting and running by Daniel when they took off and flew five meters and landed somewhere else on the road.
These beetles are predators and hunt by running faster than most other bugs and grabbing their prey with those large mandibles.
Part 1 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53917002544/
There are four species of tiger beetle in Sweden. The green tiger beetle (Cicindela campestris), the wood tiger beetle (C.sylvatica), the northern dune tiger beetle (C. hybrida) and the dune tiger beetle (C. maritima). The green and northern dune ones are fairly common while the wood one is more rare and the dune one is endangered.
So, since one of the strongest habitats in the country of the dune one is only about 25 km from my mother-in-law's place, me and my son went there to try and find one.
I chose a place just south of the Mjällådalen nature reserve where there is a sand pit where C. maritima has been reported in 1999, 2015, 2018 and 2020.
Shooting tiger beetles can be frustrating, they are fast runners with good vision and a propensity to fly five or ten meters when you try to get close. When we got there, we quite quickly located a tiger beetle and even managed to shoot it and when it took off, Daniel took off chasing it and pointed where it landed so I could have another attempt.
We came across about five of these guys (plus a green), but when I got home and processed the shots in Photoshop, these don't look like C. maritima, but rather C. sylvatica, the wood tiger beetle.
I have no idea if they were misidentified by the previous people or if there are C. maritima there as well or what, but I am still glad for these as these actually are the second set of shots I've managed of this particular species. Hopefully we can track down the remaining two species eventually.
Part 1 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53847725151/
I also have an album with 75+ shots of tiger beetles here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/albums/72157719182564816/
There are four species of tiger beetle in Sweden. The green tiger beetle (Cicindela campestris), the wood tiger beetle (C.sylvatica), the northern dune tiger beetle (C. hybrida) and the dune tiger beetle (C. maritima). The green and northern dune ones are fairly common while the wood one is more rare and the dune one is endangered.
So, since one of the strongest habitats in the country of the dune one is only about 25 km from my mother-in-law's place, me and my son went there to try and find one.
I chose a place just south of the Mjällådalen nature reserve where there is a sand pit where C. maritima has been reported in 1999, 2015, 2018 and 2020.
Shooting tiger beetles can be frustrating, they are fast runners with good vision and a propensity to fly five or ten meters when you try to get close. When we got there, we quite quickly located a tiger beetle and even managed to shoot it and when it took off, Daniel took off chasing it and pointed where it landed so I could have another attempt.
We came across about five of these guys (plus a green), but when I got home and processed the shots in Photoshop, these don't look like C. maritima, but rather C. sylvatica, the wood tiger beetle.
I have no idea if they were misidentified by the previous people or if there are C. maritima there as well or what, but I am still glad for these as these actually are the second set of shots I've managed of this particular species. Hopefully we can track down the remaining two species eventually.
I have an album with 75+ shots of tiger beetles here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/albums/72157719182564816/
Cicindela hybrida.
Cicindela hybrida.
Cicindela hybrida.
Cicindela hybrida.
Cicindela hybrida.
Cicindela hybrida.
It walks on "stilts" to maintain its correct body temperature. Cicindela hybrida.
Cicindela hybrida.
Brun sandjägare Listarums grushed, Skåne, Sweden
Brun sandjägare Hofterups badsjöar, Skåne, Sweden
Brun sandjägare Hofterup badsjöar, Saxtorp, Skåne, Sweden