Bates' tiger beetle
Larvae of this ground-hunting beetle sometimes plug their own burrow entrance with soil, a behavior recorded more often just before rain.
| Where | Trails and open ground across Taiwan |
|---|---|
| Size | 15 to 21 mm body length |
| When | April to October |
Bates' tiger beetle is a fast, metallic blue-green beetle with orange-red patches on the head and four white spots along each wing case. It runs and flies in short bursts along sunlit trails and open ground.
Larvae dig vertical burrows and ambush passing insects from the entrance, a stage that can last many months before the adult emerges. Adults hunt small insects on open ground through summer.
Traits
Habitat
Woodland
Colour
Metallic, White, Orange
Active
Day
To people
Runs and flies off quickly when approached; not known to bite or harm people.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Cosmodela aurulenta usually shows six large white spots plus two small shoulder spots on each wing case, more than the four spots of Bates' tiger beetle.
Questions
Is the Bates' tiger beetle dangerous to people?
Runs and flies off quickly when approached; not known to bite or harm people.
When can you see the Bates' tiger beetle?
The Bates' tiger beetle can be seen from April to October, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by 胡正恆(Jackson Hu), CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist Licence
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Beetles›Ground beetles›Cosmodela
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.