What is this?

[Selket]

I was taking a walk the other day and I came across this and wanted to see what it was. It was found in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (Marquette area). It is about .75 inches to an inch longs. It was found on a sandy path.

Sorry the pictures aren't that great.

 

[Shrike]

Looks like that could be an ant lion. A good possibility given where you found it.

 

[Selket]

Thanks for the quick reply.

I am not sure about it being an ant lion. It just doesn't seem to burrow, and I don't know if ant lions can "fly", but I was chasing this down the path. It would jump and use a kind of wings to extend its jump to about 8-12 feet. I was going to look it up in an insect guide I have, but I cannot find the book right now.

 

[Selket]

Ok well I think I might have found it. I think it is a tiger beetle, more specific the big sand tiger beetle. (Cicindela formosa)

Here is a link if anyone wants to double check.

http://bugguide.net/node/view/8190

 

[ArachnoBasement]

Yup, it's most certainly a tiger beetle. The species might be hard to nail down though. Alot of it depends on where it was caught. These guys are one of my favorites due to their oversized mandibles.

 

[bhoeschcod]

Yep id agree it is a tiger beetle.

 

[Selket]

yeah going off of the pictures and locations from this list

I think it is Cicindela hirticollis.

It was found on a sandy path along a river.

Any one know what they eat? Are they predatory or do they eat plants? I have that leaf shown in the picture and I put part of a strawberry in the jar now. I could put a cricket in if needed.

 

[bhoeschcod]

They eat other insects a cricket will work fine they do not eat grass the beetle may need a bigger cage though.

 

[Selket]

They eat other insects a cricket will work fine they do not eat grass the beetle may need a bigger cage though.

Yeah I am working on that, that jar is just what I caught it in.

 

[Scythemantis]

Looks like that could be an ant lion. A good possibility given where you found it.

For future reference, antlion larva:

http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/images/antlion.jpg

Antlion adult:

http://fireflyforest.net/images/firefly/2005/November/antlion.jpg

 

[GiantVinegaroon]

Definitely a tiger beetle

 

[ZergFront]

You should see these on Animal Planet's Most Extreme. They're the fastest land animal on earth in terms of size and clearence of space. If you've watched one hunt, it'll search, sprint, stop and search again. The beetle goes so fast, it's vision actually blurs!