Woodland Beetles

[Geoff F]

This fairly large beetle, Rhagium mordax, tends to stand its ground which gives you a chance for a photo.



But these smaller Cantharis beetles are always rushing around in the undergrowth so it is a case of attempting a quick snap as they go past. But I did manage suitable angles to enable identification, which is always something of a consolation; particularly when there are several almost identical species.

Cantharis rustica



Cantharis pallida



And one where I always fail to get a suitable exposure due to their reflective bright red surfaces. No matter what I do they always over expose and over saturate the reds. Even when underexposed in shadows, like this shot.



Red-headed Cardinal Beetle.

[Suzan J]

Hello Geoff: These beetles are quite striking with their interesting and colourful bodies. What part of the world are you in? I only ever see plain old black ones. The red one looks quite nice on my monitor.

[John 2]

That's a nice series Geoff, particularly the first and the last.

[Shadowman]

Nice set.

[Otavio]

Well done, Geoff. Nicely sharppened. Cheers,

[deetheturk]

Great series Geoff,well captured

[bnnrcn]

Very nice images, especially the first one and the last one

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments.

As a very general rule, Suzan, the black beetles seem to live around ground level while the more colourful species are a little higher up, where they live on flowers and leaves.