This is a Tiger Beetle, and it is a welcome visitor to most gardens. Tiger Beetles are fierce predators, gobbling up a wide variety of insect pests. They are incredibly fast in the air; fast enough to catch a housefly in flight. On the ground they are even faster, reaching speeds up to 5 1/2 miles per hour. Their larvae are also predatory, waiting in their burrows for some unsuspecting insect to get close enough for a quick grab. All of that makes them a wonderful, natural way to control garden pests.