Australian Tiger Beetle
ABOUT
They are found in dry and salty habitats and can get to around 20–21mm in length and can reach a running speed of 2.49m/s, or 120 body lengths per second. With over 2300 species worldwide, they are known for their extremely predatory nature and fast speed. Moreover, while that is somewhat true for all of them they all have slightly different behaviors.
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Length: 20–21mm
Weight: <1g
Life Span: Likely 2-3 years
Distribution: Sandy soils, dry salt lakes/streams (worldwide)
Population size: Over 2300 species
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RUNNING
Because they lack the ability to fly, they evolved to run very fast as a way to escape predators and hunt their prey. They escape predators and hunt by performing quick sprints, then stopping and again running at full speed. Because of the way they move, scientists believe they are ambush predators by nature, feasting on mostly spiders and insects.
If the Australian Tiger Beetle was the size of a human, they would run at a speed of around 800 km/h, but even if we ignore the size difference, a human will still have to jog a little to keep up with their pace.
MATING
When a male desires to mate, he will start chasing and humping both males and females for a chance to breed. When he gets to a close enough distance, he will leap into the female's back, holding her with his front two legs (this mating strategy is known as amplexus). Later, the female has a choice to make to try to escape from the male by jumping and running around (that is what usually happens so that the female knows that the man is healthy and worthy to mate with her) or to just accept her fate and let him be (super rarely happening).
So that was it! – Now you know more about the Australian Tiger Beetle. I hope you learned a lot regarding the spectacular wildlife on our planet with The Wildlife Echo!
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