Who Should Win

by James Bow · 1 year ago

As Round One of March Species madness draws to a close (tomorrow will have the last two matches), our second match of the day pits the Six-Spotted Tiger Beetle against the Bombardier Beetle. The Bombardier Beetle entered this contest as the winner of its First Four wildcard match against the Ground Mantid. It is competing as a whole family because there are 500 species of Bombardier Beetles, and they can be hard to tell apart. All have the neat ability to defend themselves when threatened by shooting a hot, noxious chemical from the tip of its abdomen with a popping sound. That's how it got its name. Bombs away indeed. You can see a video of this in action here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3sxJNt8CYw The Six-Spotted Tiger Beetle is a solitary creature that can be found on forest trails. Catch them in flecks of sunlight, and you'll see their iridescent green, sometimes blue bodies. These are active hunters, searching for insects. Even as larvae, they will lie in wait in burrows to lunge out at prey. Find out more about these beautiful creatures at: https://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.php?identification=Six-Spotted-Tiger-Beetle Only one beetle can advance to the next round, and only you can decide which beetle that is, so cast your ballots, and may be best beetle win!