This tiger beetle is an active predator and can frequently be found hunting along footpaths and walkways through deciduous or mixed woodlands. Since the adults overwinter in their original pupal burrows, they are some of the earliest "big" flying insects out and about come springtime. I love the metallic color, and have followed these guys around quite a bit lately (2nd week April) - you can sneak up on them if you move slowly and approach from a low angle - they'll fly off if you blot out large areas of sky - and when it's hot, they can be most uncooperative! These pictures were taken from about 4 inches away.

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 The tiger beetles (family Cicindelidae) are members of the suborder Adephaga within the Order Coleoptera. Adult tiger beetles are characterized by large, prominent compound eyes and eleven-segmented, filiform antennae. The antennae are inserted on the frons above the clypeus and below the eyes. The head, at the eyes, is wider than the pronotum (as in most common genera of cicindelids).

Adult beetles of the families Cicindelidae and Carabidae (ground beetles) are quite similar morphologically, and some entomologists place the tiger beetles in the subfamily Cicindelinae within the family Carabidae. The ground beetles differ in the following ways: antennae inserted above the mandibles to the side of the clypeus, and below the eyes. Most ground beetles have a head, at the eye, which is narrower than the pronotum.