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Photo#267068
Tiger Beetle Larva - Tetracha

Tiger Beetle Larva - Tetracha
Roanoke, Roanoke County, Virginia, USA
April 18, 2009
Size: 1.5" or so
Found in yellow clay soil mound while digging planting holes for new trees. Area was clear but there were maples and sumac nearby within 40'. I'm unsure of ID on groundcovers, only that it was sparse and not much grass. Very reactive little fellow. Reminds me of some ground beetles with the flattened upturned head and mandibles. ID'd as Tiger Beetle, thanks! I will do my best to put soil in a jar and make a burrow for it and feed it and then we will know what species after pupation. It doesn't look like it can dig its own burrow and my garden needs all the beneficial predators it can get. :)

Moved
Moved from Tiger Beetles.

I'm pretty sure this is one of the Tetracha species, based on the shape of the outer abdominal hooks (straight, not curved as in Cicindela s. lat.). Either T. carolina or T. virginica.

Tiger beetles have similar larvae
that sit in a vertical hole and cover the excit with their heads, ready to snatch unsuspecting prey. Maybe the large size indicates something in Omini

 
Tetracha?
Perhaps a Tetracha larva? The tribe Omini doesn't occur in VA.

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