• Home
  • About Alex Wild
  • Articles
  • Galleries
  • Myrmecology News

Myrmecos Blog

the little things matter

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« How DEET works
Rain in the desert »

Friday Beetle Blogging: Clown Beetle

March 14, 2008 by myrmecos

hololepta1.jpg
Hololepta Clown Beetle (Histeridae)
Arizona

If Oscars were awarded for Most Aesthetically Pleasing Sculpturing on an Insect, hister beetles would make the short list. Especially Hololepta, which not only shows the trademark histerid shininess but also has a flattened, paper-thin body. Michele Lanan, who collected this beetle for me, noted that it seems designed to inhabit the pages of a book.

hololepta3.jpg

In case it isn’t obvious from those killer mandibles, Hololepta is predatory. This one was found in a rotting cactus in the Arizona desert, where it likely hunted fly larvae.

hololepta2.jpg
photo details: TOP 1- Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x macro lens on a Canon 20D
f/13, 1/250 sec, ISO 100
BOTTOM 2- Canon 100m f2.8 macro lens on a Canon 20D

f/15, 1/250 sec, ISO 100
all photos illuminated by indirect strobe in a white box

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in arizona, beetles, Insect Links, Photography Links | 4 Comments

4 Responses

  1. on March 15, 2008 at 2:18 pm Old-Man

    I came to your site as a result of you posting a comment on my site, and I wanted to tell you that I love your site. I have a lot of interest in a lot of things in the latter stages of my life, and I think your photography is not only great, but I like your subjects and the fact that you tell us about them. Good work. Keep it up.


  2. on March 16, 2008 at 2:11 pm Aydin

    Why does it look so matte in the 1st photo, but shiny in the other two?


  3. on March 16, 2008 at 2:25 pm myrmecos

    Old-man: Thanks for stopping by!

    Aydin: Good question. All three photos were taken in a white box with a strobe. The first one was done properly, with the strobe near the center of the box, so that the lighting was very even. This gives the beetle a smooth look even though it’s very reflective. The others look like I’d tipped the strobe a bit so that the beetle is actually catching some of the light directly.


  4. on March 28, 2010 at 11:04 am euspilotus

    Nice pic of hololepta, in France we have only Hololepta Plana do you no the specie of this taxon ?



Comments are closed.


  • This blog is an archive; the Myrmecos blog has moved.

    Please update your bookmarks!
  • Alex’s Galleries

    alexanderwild.com

  • Recent Photos

    Faro de Punta FrouxeiraEnfin tranquille !OrtaköySpringtime - FinallyLUMINOUS LYON - Lyon, FranceSauna
    More Photos
  • Biology Links

    • Tree of Life
    • Understanding Evolution
  • Blogroll

    • Ainsley Vs Livejournal
    • Ammonite
    • Anna’s Bee World
    • Archetype
    • Arthropoda blog
    • Backyard Arthropod Project
    • Beetles in the Bush
    • biodiversity in focus
    • Bug Dreams
    • Bug Eric
    • Bug Girl’s Blog
    • Burrard-Lucas Photoblog
    • Catalogue of Organisms
    • Creature Cast
    • Dan Heller
    • Debbie's Insect Blog
    • Dechronization
    • Drawing the MotMot
    • Entomoblog
    • Evolving Thoughts
    • Fall to Climb
    • Generant
    • Historias de Hormigas
    • Life on Six Legs
    • Macromite
    • microecos
    • mirmekolozi
    • myrmecoid
    • Myrmician
    • Natural Imagery
    • Nature in the Ozarks
    • NCSU Insect Blog
    • No Cropping Zone
    • omit needless words
    • Photo Synthesis
    • Princess Peppercloud
    • Science Blogs
    • Snail’s Tales
    • Stu Jenks
    • The Ant Hunter
    • The Ant Room
    • The Bug Whisperer
    • The Loom
    • This Week in Evolution
    • What's Bugging You?
    • Wild about Ants
    • Xenogere
  • Insect Links

    • Ant Farm Forum
    • Ant Insights
    • Antweb
    • Bug Squad
    • bugguide.net
    • Xerces Society
  • Photography Links

    • Canon Photography Forums
    • Digital Photography Review
    • DIY Photography
    • Igor Siwanowicz
    • Mark Plonsky
    • photo.net
    • Piotr Naskrecki
    • The Strobist
  • Popular Posts

    • Things that look like ants but aren't (Part 2)
    • How to Identify Queen Ants
    • What does it mean to be an eyeless ant?
    • The Rogue Taxonomist
    • Friday Beetle Blogging: The Eyed Elater
    • Friday Beetle Blogging: Nicrophorus orbicollis
    • Friday Beetle Blogging: Palo Verde Beetle
    • North America's charming citronella ants
    • The eggs that weren't
    • These aren't eggs...
  • Recent Posts

    • This blog has moved.
    • Friday Beetle Blogging: The Hollyhock Weevil
    • The Friday Beetle will be late…
    • Bed bugs reach an all-time high
    • Answer to the Monday Night Mystery
  • Recent Comments

    • Donald Byron Johnson on Reader question: who discovered the sex of ant workers?
    • Anonymous on Update on the Rogue Taxonomist
    • Ant on Arizona Daily Star covers “Planet of the Ants”
    • Ga. Girl on Beware the Cow-Killer
    • Anonymous on Beware the Cow-Killer
  • Categories

  • Archives

  • animation Ants aphids arachnids Argentina arizona army ants art Bees beetles behavior biodiversity biology Biology Links bugs Canon carabidae coleoptera copyright Darwin desert diptera E. O. Wilson ecology entomology Evolution fail fire ants Flies formicidae genetics google haiku Harpegnathos imaging Insect Links Insects invasive species lighting Linepithema macro macrophotography macro photography Martialis media miniscule muppets music myrmecology mystery natural history Nature new species odontomachus Parasites Paratrechina pests pheidole Photography Photography business photoshop phylogenetics phylogeny Pogonomyrmex politics predation Scarabaeidae Science SEM social insects spiders Taxonomy termites travel wasps
  • Nature Blog Network
    Add to Technorati Favorites

    Follow this blog

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


  • Follow Following
    • Myrmecos Blog
    • Join 90 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Myrmecos Blog
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
%d bloggers like this: