Friday Beetle Blogging: Scaphinotus Snail-Eating Beetle

February 22, 2008 by myrmecos

Scaphinotus petersi – Snail-Eating Ground Beetle

Arizona

Ground beetles- the family Carabidae- are a spectacular evolutionary radiation of terrestrial predators. The elegant, flightless beetles of the genus Scaphinotus prefer snails and slugs.

photo details. TOP PHOTO. Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens on a Canon 20D

f/18, 1/250 sec, ISO 100

inside a white box studio, illuminated with indirect flash

BOTTOM PHOTO. Canon MPE-E 65mm 1-5x macro lens on a Canon 20D

f/13, 1/250 sec, ISO 100

Twin Flash diffused through tracing paper.

Posted in arizona, beetles, Insect Links, Photography Links | Tagged beetles, carabidae, entomology, Nature | 3 Comments

3 Responses

on February 22, 2008 at 9:49 am Aydin

Snail eating beetle!? Smash it! Smash it!

But seriously, do you have any pictures of them while eating snails? I would like to know if & how they break snail shells.
on February 22, 2008 at 10:13 am myrmecos

Aydin- They apparently go in the front end, see here:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070626115432.htm
on May 2, 2011 at 7:20 am Anonymous

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