Each of the past few years, these tiger beetles have reliably showed up on the sandy beach of Mauserts Pond.

The beach at Mauserts Pond at Clarksburg State Park is not spectacular by a long shot, but it does boast the claim of stomping grounds for some very cool tiger beetles. They are one of the more reliable critters around here — and one of the more difficult to photograph! (I’m the nut crawling around on his stomach trying not to breathe then all of a sudden sitting up and cursing under (or over) my breath because my quarry has flown away just as I got it into focus. That’s me.) This particular shot is from two years ago to the day. I’ve only been down to the pond once so far this year (terrible, I know), so unsurprisingly, especially given the weather, I have not seen any yet.

This pose is not the greatest, but perhaps the greatest that I captured of this unwilling model. I believe this is a Cicindela sp. That’s all, folks; I must now go battle the consequences of some horrid insomnia. I hope y’all got more rest than me.