Green Tiger Beetles at Dovestone

My first RSPB Blog.......

I wanted to tell folk a little more about some of the amazing wildlife , besides birds, that we have here at Dovestone – and to start with Green Tiger Beetles, with a lovely Latin name of Cicindela campestris.

These are a brilliant ground Beetle with green and purple metallic coloured legs and eyes, with creamy spots on the top of the bright green wing cases, so are easily recognised – if you see one in flight its just a flash of bright green.

It commonly lives on dry sandy heaths – so what's it doing in damp peaty Saddleworth?

The answer is that our underlying rock is Sandstone and Gritstone and when this weathers over many years, it develops into sandy soil – and of course we also have loads of peat, which when it dries is very crumbly and friable and behaves like sand too.

Green Tiger Beetles use this sandiness of the soil or peat  to build cone-shaped pits for their larvae to live in.

These then act as traps for insects to fall into - and cant easily climb out of the steep sides, so its a ready meal delivery service.

The adults with their  big jaws and amazing speed of attack are also voracious predators of other ground dwelling insects.

They are totally harmless to us but are a very efficient hunter.

Where can I see them? Well, they like warm sunny days to hunt and rest, so rocks and dry footpaths in sunshine are good, but away from disturbance.

Sometimes if you are lucky you can see many together.

They are at low level around Dovestone, and also at high level on the Moorland tops.

The best months for spotting them are May to September, in warm sunny weather.

See if you can find any!