Tiger Beetle

Characteristics

A representative tiger beetle with a beautiful colorful metallic luster. The Japanese nameHanmyou'' is also calledNamihanmyo'' to distinguish it from other species belonging to the subfamily Tiger beetle.

The whole body is shiny, and various colors such as green, blue, and red are mixed. The head is green, and the forewings and thorax are bright red. It has a large jaw on its head. The legs have fine hairs.

aka "Michioshie(Teach the way)"

Tiger beetles are also known as "Michioshie" and "Michishirube". This is because tiger beetles appear on forest roads and move about 1-2 meters at a time, which is thought to be inviting to people.

Ecology

It can be seen on forest roads in mountains and wet ground along streams from around April. It emerges on the ground in the sun rather than in the dark. They are carnivorous and use their mandibles to catch and eat insects. The larvae also have large mandibles and dig vertical holes in the ground to hide and drag in passing insects such as ants to eat.

Habitat

It was taken on a forest road in Hachioji city. It was out on the sunny ground along the stream. They're not insects that make noise, but they're brightly colored, so you can find them. On this day, they seemed to be targeting insects that gathered in raccoon dog droppings. Its mandibles are sharp, and when viewed from the front it has a ferocious look.