Tiger Beetles and Sparrows

Six-spotted Tiger Beetles can be spotted from spring into early summer. They live in forests and adjacent fields and are often found on trails where they can run and fly short distances without being blocked by tall vegetation. They have been spotted in this location, but continue to watch for them along the wooded trails.

Don't confuse these green beetles with non-native Japanese Beetles or Emerald Ash Borers. Tiger Beetles can easily be separated from these by their behavior. In fact, they are so fast that their eyes can't keep up with their speed! This is why they run a short distance and then stop.

This area often hosts flocks of White-throated Sparrows from fall into spring before they return to northern nesting areas.

photo credits: tiger beetle: Donna Brunet. Used by permission. All rights reserved. sparrow: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

sources:

University of Minnesota Department of Entomology https://entomology.umn.edu/six-spotted-tiger-beetle

Cornell University, Cornell Chronicles; https://news.cornell.edu/stories/1998/01/tiger-beetles-go-blind-chasing-prey-high-speeds