tiger-beetle

In her winter dress, as now, she was like the tiger-beetle, which, when observed in dull situations, seems to be of the quietest neutral colour, but under a full illumination blazes with dazzling splendour.

The Return of the Native 1878

Islands there is a cricket (Condylodeira tricondyloides), which so closely resembles a tiger-beetle of the genus Tricondyla that the experienced entomologist, Professor Westwood, at first placed it in his cabinet among those beetles.

Darwinism (1889) Alfred Russel Wallace 1868

Observe, for instance, the tiger-beetle, as it runs swiftly over the uneven surface of the path in search of its dinner, with its eager antennæ thrust out in advance.

Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 437 Volume 17, New Series, May 15, 1852 Various 1836

A few glass tumblers inverted above as many of these larger holes during the summer will intercept the winged sprite into which he is shortly to be transfigured -- a brilliant metallic-hued beetle, perhaps flashing with bronzy gold or glittering like an emerald -- the beautiful _cicindela_, or tiger-beetle, known to the entomologist as the most agile winged among the coleopterous tribe; known to the populace, perhaps, simply as a bright glittering fly that revels in the hot summer sands of the sea-shore or dusty country road, making its short spans of glittering flight from the very feet of the observer.

My Studio Neighbors William Hamilton Gibson 1873