Beetles

Ciaróg

There are thousands of different types of beetles in Ireland! Most of them have six legs. Their wings are also protected by a hard cover. Beetles can have different colours and lifestyles.

Some of the beetles found in Ireland are:

• water beetle
• ground beetle
• click beetle
• weevil
• dung beetle
• tiger beetle.

Let's take a closer look at some of them.
 

Tiger Beetle

Tiger Beetle

Courtesy of the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government

Tiger Beetle
Courtesy of the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government

Tiger Beetle

Tiger Beetle

Courtesy of the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government

Enlarge image

The tiger beetle is very colourful. It can be blue, green, orange or red. It has long legs and big eyes.

The tiger beetle eats a lot of food! It is a very good hunter because its big eyes help it to see better than others insects. It eats spiders and other insects. It is very clever too. Sometimes it waits on top of burrows where insects live. It catches them when they come out.

The tiger beetle only comes out during the daytime.

Look at this picuture of the tiger beetle. Have you ever seen a beetle like this?