It's not superman, but the Australian tiger beetle Cicindela hudsoni is as close as it gets for an Earth-thing. Relative to size, it’s the fastest land animal on the planet - and definitely the fastest (running) insect in the world. The cheetah is still the fastest land animal on Earth (in absolute terms).
How fast is the Australian tiger beetle?
This 2cm-long speed demon can race up to 2.5m (or 125 body lengths) per second. If it were human-sized, that would equate to 800kmph – faster than a speeding bullet. And ignore size differences and the running ability of Cicindela hudsoni is still impressive – a human would have to jog to keep up with it.
The Australian tiger beetle is quick on its feet for a reason. It feeds on other swift-moving insects, such as grasshoppers and flies (though it’ll eat anything it can catch), so supper depends on speed. It’s a tenacious, voracious predator with long, athletic legs, strong, claw-like mouthparts and large eyes. To insect prey, it’s like having a, well, tiger on your tail. But there’s a downside to life in the fast lane.
The beetle moves at such a clip that its sensory system cannot always keep up. Its eyes neglect their duties when moving in fast- forward, since their receptors cannot collect photons of light fast enough to form a coherent image. The insect’s ability to see properly shuts down and it blacks out.
As a result, a tiger in hot pursuit must stop periodically – for just a fraction of a second – to regain its faculties and relocate its target before continuing the chase. It may pause three or four times during a hunt, giving its prey several chances to escape.
But temporary blindness seems a small price to pay for superspeed – the beetle runs down most dinners, even with all the fits and starts.
Did you know?
- There are more than 2,000 species of tiger beetle worldwide, often found in sandy habitats.
- Tiger beetles are predators all of their lives, but are mostly sedentary during the larval stage. A larva typically hunts by burying itself in the sand, leaving just its head and mandibles exposed, then snatching any prey scurrying past.
Main image: Tiger beetle, Cicindela hudsoni © Getty Images