Golden-spotted tiger beetle
This diurnal tiger beetle hunts sunlit sandy trails and riverbanks with iridescent blue green mandibles, and males cling to a female's back with their jaws while mating.
| Where | Sandy river banks and trails |
|---|---|
| Size | 15 to 21 mm body length |
| When | January to December |
The Golden-spotted tiger beetle has a metallic blue green body with large black mandibles marked at the base in yellowish white, and each wing case carries six large pale spots plus two smaller spots near the shoulder.
Adults hunt small insects by sight on open sandy ground such as river bars, forest trails and sand dunes near mangroves, and males grip the female's back with their mandibles while mating.
Traits
Habitat
Coast
Colour
Metallic, Black, White
Active
Day
To people
Not known to bother people; it avoids contact and relies on speed and flight to escape.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Has only four white spots on each wing case and mandibles that are mostly white with dark blue green tips, compared to the six large spots plus two shoulder spots and mostly black mandibles of the Golden-spotted tiger beetle.
Questions
Is the Golden-spotted tiger beetle dangerous to people?
Not known to bother people; it avoids contact and relies on speed and flight to escape.
When can you see the Golden-spotted tiger beetle?
The Golden-spotted tiger beetle can be seen from January to December, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by portioid, 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.