Tiger Beetles: Fierce Hunters, Fast Movers

Tiger beetles look like jewels and can smell like bubblegum. What’s not to love? Ph.D. student Harlan Gough of the Kawahara Lab at the Florida Museum Natural History shows us the world of tiger beetles -- fierce hunters and fast movers.
Story:
www.floridamus...
Read Harlan Gough’s study of the molecular phylogeny of tiger beetles:
doi.org/10.111...
Learn more about the Kawahara Lab:
www.floridamus...
Featuring Harlan Gough
Produced by Rose Roberts
Additional footage courtesy of Harlan Gough, The Cornell Chronicle, Jesse Barber and Juliette Rubin of the Barber Lab at Boise State University
Music: “Rain Drops” by JewelBeat.
“Perspectives,” “Tugboat Theme” and “Slider” by Blue Dot Sessions. Licensed via Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
Blue Dot Sessions: www.sessions.b...
License: www.sessions.b...
Creative Commons: creativecommon...
More from the Florida Museum of Natural History:
- Museum and research news www.floridamus...
- Houses of silk, poop and plants: Meet the sack-bearer moths • Houses of silk, poop a...

[@Chompchompyerded]

They're kind of cute in a way, with their big bulged out round eyes. I hate to see them dead and pinned to a card though. The rarest of Tiger beetles on the planet lives near my home. It's called the Salt Creek Tiger beetle and there are only about 100 of them left. The Henry Dourly Zoo, the Topeka Zoo, and the Nebraska Game and parks commission are collaborating and doing their best to boost their numbers and to re-establish them in habitats where they used to live.

[@johnreazin1074]

I have them running around the garden here in East texas. I thought they were some kind of cockroach. Then I learned they actually eat pests and are good to have around.

[@CatchingDinosaurs]

we have millions of them on our river banks in Texas, never knew what they were so thanks for that

[@katw8116]

This is fantastic!

[@violetartem1034]

I’m keeping a tiger beetle right now ^^

[@marsenault9683]

Its wild, we had no idea these tiger beetles in our town are so rare. I'm in Connecticut and we have one of the very few populations left of these beetles. Great care does go into relocating saving them anytime things are build.

[@marsenault9683]

i live in an area where anytime there is development we have to relocate these little beetles regularly before anyone can build in the Northeast.

[@Sheeeeeeeeeeeeiiitt]

Awesome video, found a few of these guys in/around my garage in Pensacola.

[@narendrabhagwat4087]

Thanks for the excellent video. What is their life span in each life stage and do they make any sound like Crickets do? What is the ideal habitat to find them?

[@knightdark4371]

Cool video

[@JucheGang]

Awesome vid. Wish my teacher showed this instead of just the Wikipedia page 😂

[@rattyeely]

1:14 that person really lost their tiger beetle in a stack of magazines... oops

[@adanfrutos473]

*Cute bugs!*

[@earlspencer7863]

How can you tell apart all the species

[@BaronCornicus]

Identification keys are where it typically starts. Some can be identified from common features, but keying is the only "real" way.

[@Speed-TV]

Every day there are a ton if metallic tiger beetles in our pool

[@AGreenGotScammed]

I found tiger beetle last nigth

[@bobbydhopp65]

Pocket Ants Festive Tiger Beetle is coming to your location

[@baconbirbthegreat]

I just caught a cicindela campestris

[@skylarbrooks5846]

So I think I might have seen a tiger beetle yesterday and have never seen a bug quiet like it hence why I stumbled across your video. It was neon green and looks similar to a picture in this video. I have pictures but they are not great.
How do you determine if it's a tiger beetle?

[@FloridaMuseum]

Hi Skylar -- if you click through the link to the article about tiger beetles, there's contact info for Harlan Gough who studies them. He would be more than happy to help you determine if you found a tiger beetle! www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/tiger-beetles-fierce-hunters-fast-movers/

[@harlangough]

Hi Skylar, I'm the guy in the video. If you live in the Eastern United States you might have found the six-spotted tiger beetle. You should be able to find some pictures online to compare with your pictures. Good luck and let me know if you figure it out!

[@Ethereal792]

@@harlangough hey Harlan, hope you remember me from HS! I found this video after binge-watching a bunch of nature stuff on RUclips haha. It's super cool to see you pursuing your goals in biology. Hope to see you in the next Planet Earth series!

[@harlangough]

@@Ethereal792 Hey Eddie! I definitely remember you. I just came across your comment years late. It's so cool that you found this video! Hope you're well.

[@alihunter84]

we have tiger beetles in the Uk but they are super indangered. They are much fatter here and i've only ever seen the basic OIL patterning, but there are known spots to see them at the right time of year.

[@kroakie4]

These beetles are pretty cute.

[@dominiquebrodoteau5135]

Cute guy.