Some quick focus stacks of live tiger beetles

Images of undisturbed subjects in their natural environment. All subject types.

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MarkSturtevant
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Location: Michigan, U.S.A.
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Some quick focus stacks of live tiger beetles

Post by MarkSturtevant »

I would like to do more of these. They were fun! The festive tiger beetle (Cicindella scutellaris) is beautiful, even by tiger beetle standards, and they become periodically rather common along the footpaths of what I call the Magic Field. Most of these were taken with the assistance of the Helicon Fb tube, taking pictures in burst mode.
ImageFestive tiger beetle by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
ImageFestive tiger beetles by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
ImageFestive tiger beetle by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

They are variable. Some are mostly green.
ImageFestive tiger beetle by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

The trick is to get down on the ground where they are, and just wait for them to come to you.
Thanks for looking!
Mark Sturtevant
Dept. of Still Waters

Pau
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Re: Some quick focus stacks of live tiger beetles

Post by Pau »

Excellent images, even more when knowing how fast are these animals

At the two first ones, are they fighting or trying to mate?
Pau

MarkSturtevant
Posts: 1946
Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2015 6:52 pm
Location: Michigan, U.S.A.
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Re: Some quick focus stacks of live tiger beetles

Post by MarkSturtevant »

Pau wrote:
Thu Dec 03, 2020 3:41 am
Excellent images, even more when knowing how fast are these animals
At the two first ones, are they fighting or trying to mate?
Mating. Males have slightly longer mandibles to grip the females. I've seen that they are often not copulating, but what is going on then is 'mate guarding', where the male is trying to keep the female from mating again.
Mark Sturtevant
Dept. of Still Waters

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