"The saddest people I've ever met in life are the ones who don't care deeply about anything at all. Passion and satisfaction go hand in hand, and without them, any happiness is only temporary, because there's nothing to make it last."
― Nicholas Sparks
The 2022 Tiger Beetle Season ran from April 10th to November 1st for a total of 205 days ― amazing! There were earlier sightings by others and a November 9th Festive by Mr. Reese. My first observation was Oblique-lined at Spring Green and my last were the November Bronzed at the Sauk City Canoe Launch. I'm pretty sure this was the first time on record that a few Wisconsin tiger beetle enthusiasts found them during the month of November.
There were a number of memorable highlights, including most of my insecting posse obtaining their 16th and final Wisconsin species. For me, Mark, and Lester it was the Boreal Long-lipped east of Mott's Ravine State Natural Area. Lori scored Long-lipped as well on the trip, but her 16th was the Splendids atop Spring Green's bluffs, which damn near caused her demise. Lester and I were thrilled to find Northern Barrens at Spring Green's west unit. Mark found a healthy population of Hairy-necked at Arena's sandbars along the Wisconsin River. While Cow Path and Long-lipped are species well north of Dane County, I now have locations where the other 14 can be found in Sauk County less than an hour's drive from my home, forming an elbow along the Wisconsin River (map above).
I've discussed the attraction to tiger beetles in other posts here, but nobody captures this sentiment quite as well as the one expressed in Pearson's field guide:
"We know that this interest in tiger beetles is not mystical, but if you talk to tiger beetle aficionados about their hobby, most of them will not be able to explain the source of what the uninitiated may see as a mania."
Truth!
It's a challenge to select my favorite tiger beetle portraits in a given season, but I'll give it a go.
First up we have Six-spotted Tiger Beetle (Cicindela sexguttata) photographed along the bisecting rock wall at Pope Farm Conservancy. This is a great location to obtain fantastic portraits from the comfort of kneeling in the grass and using nearby rocks as elbow supports. The lichens on the rocks also provide more interesting habitat compared to the typical sandy environs where tiger beetles are found.
There are a variety of locations to photograph Big Sand Tiger Beetles (Cicindela formosa generosa) along the Wisconsin River, and my favorite is the Sauk City Canoe Launch.
Here's a close-up of a Splendid Tiger Beetle (Cicindela splendida) from the only location in southern Wisconsin where I can reliably find them, Spring Green Preserve. They're best found atop the bluff on rocky outcroppings, but one time I did find one on the sandy trail leading up to the woods.
I found Common Claybank (Cicindela limbalis) during just one visit to Spring Green this season ― perhaps only two or three individuals. Readers may recall the photograph below was followed by a dire accident when a strong gust of wind blew me off the rocks. To add insult to injury, during the fall I rolled into some Poison Ivy. Oh, the cost of one's pursuits!
Southern Wisconsin's Festive Tiger Beetles (Cicindela scutellaris lecontei) demonstrate remarkable color and maculation variability. I have to give this very green one a double-take thinking it a Six-spotted or Northern Barrens.
#16 Boreal Long-lipped Tiger Beetle (Cicindela longilabris). Definitely the absolute highlight of the season ― a long drive, but worth the effort given this beetle and all the other insects we found.
Here's one of the many Hairy-necked Tiger Beetles (Cicindela hirticollis) observed and documented on the sandbars at the Arena Boat Landing. One of the skittish and fastest tiger beetles I encounter, that there were so many made it a little easier to get good portraits.
This is a female Northern Barrens Tiger Beetle (Cicindela patruela) was seeking locations to oviposit her eggs, which was a cool behavior I was able to observe and photograph. This is one of the individuals Lester and I found at Spring Green Preserve's west unit.
One of the best sideview portraits I've ever obtained of a stilting Olibquie-lined Tiger Beetle (Cicindela tranquebarica), photographed at Sauk Prairie Recreational Natural Area.
The same location is a premier destination for Ghost Tiger Beetles (Cicindela lepida), which are abundant for only a few weeks during late June and early July.
With Sandy Stream Tiger Beetles (Cicindela macra) found this season at Arena, this makes 3 locations in my Sauk County Elbow where this species can be observed.
Mid-summer's ubiquitous Punctured Tiger Beetle (Cicindela punctulata). During the outing this photograph was taken, I was impressed to observe this species extract moisture from a small plant by mashing it with its mandibles.
Though not my best portrait for Virginia Metallic Tiger Beetle (Tetracha virginica), it's always cool to see these beetles scurry along the trail at Spring Green Preserve.
Lastly, here's one of the November Bronzed Tiger Beetles (Cicindela repanda) showing more of a green hue compared to the more typically observed brown color.
Missed in 2022 was Twelve-spotted Tiger Beetle (Cicindela duodecimguttata) and Cow Path Tiger Beetle (Cicindela purpurea). My posse and I only briefly contemplated making a trip to the Bloomer area like we did for Cow Path in 2021. I checked for Twelve-spotted at a few locations where I've found them before, but encountered none this year.
There you have it! I don't have any specific 2023 goals for tiger beetles, but I still intended to write a book about them at some point. I've been meaning to at least develop an outline, but the procrastinator in me keeps finding other things to do!
All images © 2022 Mike McDowell