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« An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles #1
Homemade flash diffusers for Canon’s macro twin flash »

Friday Beetle Blogging: Ostoma Bark-Gnawing Beetle

February 19, 2010 by myrmecos

Ostoma pippingskoeldi, Sierra Nevada, California

If you peel back the bark of an old stump in the forests of western North America, there’s a good chance you’ll find some of these attractive tank-like insects. This is Ostoma pippingskoeldi, a predatory beetle in the family Trogossitidae. They lurk about under bark searching for soft-bodied prey, including the larvae of other beetles.

All legs and antennae tucked safely away.

Photo details (top): Canon mp-e 65mm 1-5x macro lens on a Canon EOS D60
ISO 100, f13, 1/200 sec, diffused flash
(bottom): Nikon coolpix 995, ambient light

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Posted in beetles, Nature | Tagged beetles, Photography, trogossitidae | 3 Comments

3 Responses

  1. on February 26, 2010 at 11:24 pm Marvin

    Tank-like is an accurate description. With all the timber downed in a 2008 ice storm, we ought to have a good crop of these beetles and their prey.


  2. on March 17, 2010 at 10:59 pm An Inordinate Fondness (AIF) #2

    […] his Myrmecos Blog, Alex Wild describes his discovery of an Ostoma Bark-Gnawing Beetle after engaging in what I’ve come to realize is a favorite hobby amongst all of you. […]


  3. on March 18, 2010 at 6:34 pm Joy

    I love how they even tuck their antennae tidily out of the way.



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