Neotropical Tiger Beetle vs Steel-blue Cricket Hunter

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Neotropical Tiger Beetle Steel-blue Cricket Hunter
Scientific Name Pseudoxycheila tarsalis Chlorion aerarium
Order Coleoptera Hymenoptera
Family Cicindelidae Sphecidae
Size 15-22 mm 18-28 mm
Habitat Forests Deserts & Drylands
Diet Predators Predators
Regions Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador North America
Conservation Not Evaluated Least Concern

Neotropical Tiger Beetle

A fast-running predatory beetle with metallic blue-green elytra and large sickle-shaped mandibles. It actively hunts small invertebrates on the forest floor.

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Did You Know?

It runs so fast while chasing prey that it must periodically stop to re-orient because its eyes cannot process images at full speed.

Steel-blue Cricket Hunter

A large metallic blue wasp that hunts field crickets and mole crickets. It drags paralyzed prey into burrows to provision its nest cells.

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Did You Know?

It enters cricket burrows headfirst to sting and extract its prey from underground.