20 March 2016

Rove beetle

This rove beetle looked black until I saw it more closely and the beautiful, shiny colours became apparent. It was an aggressive little animal, though: when I gently coaxed it into a more accessible position to be photographed, it seemed keen on taking on my finger. Given how sharp those mandibles appear, I'm glad it wasn't larger.

[I've published a new post on Pohanginapete. If you're interested, check it out.]



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5 comments:

  1. Zhoen21 March 2016 at 05:48

    A gorgeous shiny creature, brave of you to coax, since he obviously is not to be messed with.

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  2. pohanginapete22 March 2016 at 20:57

    Zhoen, if small invertebrates have nightmares, this beetle is the stuff of them.

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  3. Zhoen24 March 2016 at 11:08

    pete,
    Certain sure.

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  4. Lisa30 March 2016 at 14:07

    It looks so ill-proportioned: those thin legs, all different lengths, look as if they would never keep that long body off the ground. And yet, for all that, it does have a dark beauty to it, doesn't it?

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  5. pohanginapete30 March 2016 at 14:28

    Lisa, I see what you mean, but small things don't need big legs. It's all to do with the way an animal's weight increases much faster than the cross-section of its legs. If you could somehow enlarge this beetle to the size of an elephant, its legs would be far too thin to support its enormous weight — which would be quite a relief, because I wouldn't want to be chased by an elephant-sized rove beetle ;-)

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Constructive criticism is welcomed (I particularly appreciate thoughts on what you like and don't like), but please keep it courteous.