Beach Monster #1 – Tiger Beetle

According to Wikipedia, they actually prefer it hot—34°C or higher—but given that there are over 2,300 species, it is hardly surprising to find them scurrying along the beach at Cape Arkona. Yes, that’s right: when hunting, they sprint at speeds of up to 2.5 m/s—so fast that their eyes can no longer process the path ahead, meaning they hunt blindly for brief moments. Since they haven’t gone extinct—quite the opposite, in fact, as they were everywhere here—the strategy seems to work, and I am once again amazed by the things I discover and learn through my lens.