Bug FAQSix-spotted Tiger Beetle
Cicindela sexguttata · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Carabidae
Also called: Six-spotted Green Tiger Beetle
Source: Wikipedia
Adults are about 12 to 14 mm long and have long legs. They live in sunny clearings of deciduous forests from southeastern Canada and Minnesota down to eastern Texas, avoiding the Florida Panhandle.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The beetle’s metallic green-blue elytra usually show six small white spots, though some may have more, fewer, or none.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure 12 to 14 mm (½ to 5⁄8 in) in length and have fairly long legs.
Source: Wikipedia
Does it bite or sting?
They will not bite humans unless they are handled, and the bite is mild.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
They are active predators that eat caterpillars, ants, spiders, and other small arthropods.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Females lay eggs in sandy spots; larvae burrow underground, develop for about a year, then pupate, with the adult living up to five years.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
This species is a common North American tiger beetle.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 43 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, Texas, Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do they eat?
They hunt and eat small arthropods such as caterpillars, ants, and spiders.
Source: Wikipedia
Where can I find them?
Look for them in sunny clearings of deciduous forests from southeastern Canada and Minnesota down to eastern Texas, avoiding the Florida Panhandle.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Carabidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicindela_sexguttata
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.