This Australian salt-lake tiger beetle
Cicindela hudsoni in sun-bleached plains
An insect of pale, tan or dull-metallic hue
Endemic in arid salt lakes of Australian south
Is the fastest bug with speed record crown
While many other beetles’ species are slower
Wearing iridescent emerald or rainbow armour.
The speedster is flightless with vestigial wings
It relies entirely on sheer sprinting speed
Rather than jumping and flying like other species
So are its long, spindly legs highly specialized
For rapid and repetitive strides over lake margins
While they hunt down other small desert insects
No airborne threat can match its sprinting pace.
On sun-scorched crust, fleeting partners meet
And the female deposits eggs in desert heat
No visual courtship displays as prelude to mate
Male simply outsmarts partner by quick sprints
The male stays locked onto her back for hours
Till she searches a safe spot to deposit her eggs.
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