Fun Six-spotted Tiger Beetle Facts For Kids

Search carefully as you walk past sidewalks, nature trails, and dirt paths, and you might spot a tiny bright green beetle crawling with its long legs peacefully. If you observe this little one carefully, you might notice six, white round spots on its outer wings. That’s the six-spotted tiger beetle, Cicindela sexguttata!

These little beetles are found in North America around the spring season, usually in the eastern regions of Canada and the United States. They might look interesting, but wait for an insect to come around the corner.

These beetles are ruthless predators, and they would grab the insect in a flash with its sickle-shaped mandible! Quite ferocious for someone that size, isn’t it?

Excited to know more about the six-spotted tiger beetle (Cicindela sexguttata)? You might be thrilled to read our pages on the Eastern eyed click beetle as well as the jewel beetle!

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Six-Spotted Tiger Beetle Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a six-spotted tiger beetle?

The six-spotted green tiger beetle is a type of beetle.

What class of animal does a six-spotted tiger beetle belong to?

This tiger beetle falls under the class of Insects.

How many six-spotted tiger beetles are there in the world?

There is no exact count on the total individuals of this species.

Where does a six-spotted tiger beetle live?

You can spot this beetle across North America, mainly located in the Eastern region of the United States of America and parts of Canada.

What is a six-spotted tiger beetle's habitat?

This beetle species is usually inhabited in areas having sandy or loamy soils. They are also found in deciduous forests.

The burrows of their larvae are found near wooden logs or broken twigs on the forest floors. They are quick to hide under plant litter and prefer such dense regions. You can spot them along dirt paths in areas covered with grass.

Who do six-spotted tiger beetles live with?

These insects are solitary beings.

How long does a six-spotted tiger beetle live?

The six-spotted green tiger beetle is said to have a maximum lifespan of five years.

How do they reproduce?

The adult male beetle takes a position where he is on top of his partner while mating. With successful mating, the female beetle lays her eggs in a hole/burrow dug into the sandy patches, with one egg laid per burrow.

Once these eggs hatch open, the little larva goes burrowing into the earth.

In the underground burrows, the larva waits for its prey, usually small arthropods, grabs them with their mandibles, and feeds on them. It takes almost a year for the little one to develop into a larva, after which they grow into pupae.

Possessiveness can be observed in these species. Once the male and the female tiger beetles are done mating, the male beetle might use his mandibles to grab on to his female, not allowing any other potential male to breed with her.

What is their conservation status?

The conservation status of the spotted tiger beetle (Cicindela Sexguttata) is unknown.

Six-Spotted Tiger Beetle Fun Facts

What do six-spotted tiger beetles look like?

The first thing you would notice on the six-spotted tiger beetle (Cicindela Sexguttata) is its body of striking bright metallic green color or sometimes metallic blue-green hue. As their names suggest, the elytra of the adults are adorned with small white spots towards the rump side.

For a majority of the cases, these spots are six in number, however, there may be a few beetles of this kind having more, lesser, or no spots on their bodies due to variations in their genetics.

These six spots are arranged such that there are two white spots along each forewing side, whereas another white mark is present at the end of each of its wing covers, making it six in total. Compared to their body sizes, they have long legs.

This insect’s white mandibles give it an aggressive look.

These tiger beetles also have large eyes. Upon observing them closely, you will observe small white hair close to their abdomen region.

The larvae of this species are brown in color. They possess dark heads which have large-sized mandibles.

How cute are they?

We would not call these bright green eerie beetles cute, although they are striking!

How do they communicate?

We unfortunately are unaware of how the six-spotted Tiger Beetle communicates. Tiger beetles in general are known to communicate with each other in ultrasound ranges. This might occur like a ‘click’ noise to the human ear. This technique helps them in detecting potential predators around them.

Other members of the Cicindela family have large eyes, providing them excellent vision. They also communicate by touch, especially during the mating season. The male tiger beetle would grab onto his mate with the help of his mandibles, and not let her escape.

How big is a six-spotted tiger beetle?

The adult beetle of this species is about 0.43-0.55 in (11-14 mm) long.

This would make them one times the size of an army ant.

How fast can a six-spotted tiger beetle fly?

We are unaware of the speeds attained by the six-spotted tiger beetle, but we do know that tiger beetles are the fastest of all anthropods!

How much does a six-spotted tiger beetle weigh?

Unfortunately, we do not have information on the weight of these bright green spotted tiger beetle, Cicindela sexguttata.

What are the male and female names of the species?

There are no special names for the male and female individuals tiger beetles of this species.

What would you call a baby six-spotted tiger beetle?

Baby beetles are called larvae.

What do they eat?

These carnivores prey on spiders, smaller insects, and even other invertebrates. They are known to grab their prey with their long, sickle-shaped mandibles. Common insects which fall prey to these beetles are caterpillars, grasshoppers, ants, crickets, larvae of other insects, and even other fellow beetle species.

Are they dangerous?

These beetles do not bite humans often. However, if they sense any threat, they might bite. However, it is hard to notice and does not hurt much. In fact, this insect is not poisonous!

Would they make a good pet?

We do not think these beetles would make good pets.

Did you know...

The genus name ‘Cicindela’ is actually derived from the Latin term ‘cicindela’, which translates to ‘a glow worm’. This probably was meant to throw light on the property of these beetles having lustrous elytra which are usually metallic, or even flashy.

The adults of the six-spotted tiger beetles are mainly active in the flower season, spring. This usually occurs in the month of April to early July.

However, you can search and spot for a few of these little ones even until the month of September! The adults prefer spending the winters in a burrow under the ground and come out only in the next spring.

Common predators of this species are dragonflies, birds, other beetles, and small mammals.

What is the most dangerous insect in the world?

The most dangerous and deadliest of all insects are mosquitoes! Even though they look so small, they kill more than 700,000 humans every year. No, they aren’t dangerous because they suck blood, but they are hosts to many diseases. Some of these diseases include malaria, yellow fever, chikungunya, and even dengue.

Mosquitoes are found in almost every part of the world, except one. Guess where is this exception? It is Antarctica!

What is the fastest beetle in the world?

The fastest running beetle in the world is, in fact, a tiger beetle called the Cicindela hudsoni! This little one can gain speeds of about 5.6 mph (9.01 kph), which is almost as much as 125 times their body length in a second. This species is found in Australia.

Learn more about some other arthropods from out pages on the ghost ant facts and the house centipede Facts.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Six spotted tiger beetle coloring pages.