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melvynyeo — Tiger Beetle Therates sp.

#beetle #sp #tiger #therates
Published: 2016-10-02 06:46:03 +0000 UTC; Views: 5134; Favourites: 211; Downloads: 0
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Description Taken at night in Singapore forest.

Quote from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_be…
Tiger beetles often have large bulging eyes, long, slender legs and large curved mandibles. All are predatory, both as adults and as larvae. The genus Cicindela has a cosmopolitan distribution. Other well-known genera include Tetracha, Omus, Amblycheila and Manticora. While members of the genus Cicindela are usually diurnal and may be out on the hottest days, Tetracha, Omus, Amblycheila and Manticora are all nocturnal. Both Cicindela and Tetracha are often brightly colored, while the other genera mentioned are usually uniform black in color.

The larvae of tiger beetles live in cylindrical burrows as much as a meter deep. They are large-headed, hump-backed grubs that flip backwards to capture prey insects that wander over the ground. The fast-moving adults run down their prey and are extremely fast on the wing, their reaction times being of the same order as that of common houseflies. Some tiger beetles in the tropics are arboreal, but most run on the surface of the ground. They live along sea and lake shores, on sand dunes, around playa lakebeds and on clay banks or woodland paths, being particularly fond of sandy surfaces.[3]

Tiger beetles are considered a good indicator species and have been used in ecological studies on biodiversity. Several species of wingless parasitic wasps in the genus Methocha (family Tiphiidae), lay their eggs on larvae of various Cicindela spp., such as Cicindela dorsalis.[4]

Tiger beetles display an unusual form of pursuit in which they alternatively sprint quickly toward their prey, then stop and visually reorient. This may be because while running, the beetle is moving too fast for its visual system to accurately process images.[1] To avoid obstacles while running they hold their antennae rigidly and directly in front of them to mechanically sense their environment.[5]
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Comments: 14

2000daggers [2021-04-11 02:50:08 +0000 UTC]

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andrejbujna [2017-03-26 13:58:11 +0000 UTC]

Nice! What macro lens do you use?

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melvynyeo In reply to andrejbujna [2017-03-28 06:24:50 +0000 UTC]

100mm L canon, Thanks!

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andrejbujna In reply to melvynyeo [2017-03-28 06:40:14 +0000 UTC]

You are welcome!

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ThoriumK9 [2017-01-27 02:39:01 +0000 UTC]

Interesting. Great shot. It makes the Tiger Beetle look menacingly cute xD

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SobanskiWojciech [2017-01-24 23:58:59 +0000 UTC]

wow !!!!!!!!

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mortikye [2016-12-12 03:07:29 +0000 UTC]

I love this little guy; he looks like one of Jim Henson's Muppets!

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deviantfemale007 [2016-11-18 20:59:22 +0000 UTC]

wonderful colors: the beauty of a night at Singapore

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LitBDSM [2016-11-07 15:39:57 +0000 UTC]

I love your photos. Insects definetly need more attention. They are such gorgeous and interesting creatures. 

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SkyPotatoFire [2016-10-03 05:23:43 +0000 UTC]

Awesome!

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Whohappened [2016-10-02 15:39:22 +0000 UTC]

He looks like a muppet!

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The-Last-Phantom [2016-10-02 14:49:08 +0000 UTC]

Amazing shot!!!

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MistakeNot [2016-10-02 11:52:04 +0000 UTC]

Scary alien.

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CapscesDigitalInk [2016-10-02 06:48:22 +0000 UTC]

Very impressive image!

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