Cicindella limbalis, face, u, Allegany, MD
New Maryland state record. Common Clay Bank Tiger beetle (Cicindella limbalis), or, in this case, the Uncommon Clay Bank Tiger beetle. The specimen and 2 others were found while we were hunting these (with permission) in the yet unopened Wills Mountain State Park in Western Maryland. As usual, much of the action was in the transmission line that ran down the ridge amidst the relatively young forest. These tigers looked different (dark, but with glinty green markings) and I grabbed a few (they were remarkably slow, and I could've caught probably a billion of them if I wanted to) to show to Jonathan Mawdsley (Tiger beetle head), and it turned out that some of them were this regionally uncommon species. Habitat was loose, silty, soil on relatively steep terrain, which is apparently preferred habitat. Fun. Photography by Erick Hernandez.
We Are Made One with What We Touch and See
We are resolved into the supreme air,
We are made one with what we touch and see,
With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair,
With our young lives each spring impassioned tree
Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range
The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.
- Oscar Wilde. Original public domain image from Flickr