"They're some of the fastest-running insects on Earth. It's as small as your fingernail, but if a tiger beetle were the size of a human, it would run at the speed of a bullet train. At those speeds, everything around you becomes a blur. So how do tiger beetles see when they're in a sprint? Well, look how they keep stopping in their tracks. Uhp! Oop! Wup! Hoop! Woo!"
"Researchers at Cornell University filmed a tiger beetle chasing a lure and slowed the footage way down. The researchers think tiger beetles use those quick stops to reorient themselves and find their target again. They had tiger beetles run a simple obstacle course. At top speed, they had no trouble hurdling over the box in their path. But when they covered the tiger beetles' eyes, they ... also went right over the obstacle."
High-speed filming of a tiger beetle chasing a lure shows that the beetle sprints at extremes where vision blurs, and it interrupts runs with rapid stops to reorient and reacquire targets. In an obstacle course the beetles hurled over a box at top speed, and even with eyes covered they cleared the obstacle. Antennae contact objects first during a sprint, and removal of antennae causes collisions. Antennae provide tactile range sensing akin to outstretched arms. Powerful, jagged mandibles allow capture and crushing of fast prey, supported by long legs and acute eyes.
Read at Kqed
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