a purple tiger beetle (cicindela purpurea) in colorado's dry grasslands during daylight hours

adaptation crawling native species purple tiger beetle beauty characteristics biodiversity cicindela purpurea colorado colorful conservation behavior daytime dry grasslands ecological role ecology ecosystem entomology environment fauna food chain foraging grass ground cover habitat insect invertebrate landscape microhabitat natural world nature observation spot outdoor outdoors plant predator prey rugged terrain seasonal small creature sunlit survival terrestrial wildlife zigzag movement 39aph39 daylight hours scurries tangled strands