Beetleposting - Tumblr Posts
Day 4 of posting cute critters we found on a field trip:
Stag beetles! Female is on the left and male posing like a queen is on the right. These beetles are big, but very slow and more or less harmless. They can give you a painful pinch, but only if you’re dumb enough to put your finger between their mandibles. I’ve been playing with these bugs all the time when I was a kid and they never bit me, but their little claws can scratch you a bit in my experience. These beetles have a very short lifespan of just few months in their adult stage. As larvae, they live in rotting wood and as adults they feed only on sweet plant juices. The adults have just one mission: to breed. Males fight each other with those huge mandibles and when they mate with a female, they die. Females live a little bit longer until they lay eggs and then they die. So often, you can find HUNDREDS of stag beetle corpses all over the forest floor. Some people inevitably call the animal protection services because they freak out by it, but it’s completely normal. We found this super cool corpse that ants ate most of, but they left the hard head. Absolutely metal!
Day 8 of posting cute creatures we found on the field trip:
Today’s special is ground beetles (Carabidae):
These are big predatory beetles that hunt other insects on the ground. Most of them have lost the ability to fly, but they can move super fast. They can bite, but it isn’t any more painful than if you pinched your skin with your nails. The thing you should worry about when catching them is a stinky fluid that they spray on you since it can irritate the eyes.
Some ground beetles have gorgeous patterns on their wings:
Bonus: Did you know that you can have perfect nail polish and still be an entomologist? This is one of our assistants holding a carabid and I had to post this pic because her manicure is just 🤌🏻
Day 11 of posting cute creatures we found on our field trip:
Morimus funereus is a big, adorable beetle with super long antennae. It’s completely harmless and feeds only on plant juices. This species is most common, but there are two more of its cousins here.
Rosalia alpina looks like smaller, slimmer and overall more elegant blue Morimus. This bug was deemed prized possession by insect collectors in 19th century and that destroyed this poor beetle’s populations. Today this species is protected and cannot be collected without special permits. We let it go after taking a pic.
Morimus verecundus were having some sexy times when we found them. These beetles look a lot like M. funereus, but they have that yellowish ring behind their head. Can you see it?
Day 25 of posting cute creatures we found on our field trip:
Copper chafer (Protaetia cupraea) is one the prettiest European beetles. It feeds on nectar, pollen and fruit juices. Its shiny green - golden color is the reason why many languages call it some form of “golden beetle”. And it isn’t the only shiny beetle we have!
Unfortunately, since I’m not an entomologist I can’t really tell you which species these other shiny bugs are, but they are incredibly pretty and it would be a shame not to share them with you :)
colored pencil buggies, in order of their appearance: Luna Moth, Weevil, Jewel Wasp, Goliath Birdeater, and Hercules Beetle
Bloody Nosed Beatle
your first priority?
I have developed a sudden interest in the rhinoceros beetle
What's up with that horn pal, what are you doing, what do you even do, how's your life, how was your upbringing, are you alright?
Tested my new oil pastels 🪲🖍️ It was very fun to draw/paint!
How does it feel to be a kafkaesque soul stuck in a body of a teenage girl? 🪲🎀
Ok can we all agree that the baby from beetle juice beetle juice is named baby juice?????