I took a whirlwind weekend trip to New Mexico and Texas with some entomology friends from school and we did a bunch of collecting at Mesalaro Sand Dunes in NM and then at Devil's Creek, TX. The sand dunes were amazing, as were the attending flora and fauna on this unique habitat. Dominated by mesquite, yucca and sage, the dunes were perfect habitat for a number of things. My friend Jeff got many uncommon species of Katydid while I went after beetles. It was during that search the we came across this amazing Tiger Beetle.
I don't know if I've covered Tiger Beetles before, but I'll give a refresher now. Tiger Beetles are members of the subfamily Cicindelinae, which is in the Ground Beetle family Carabidae. These beetle are hunters. They can run extremely fast and can catch quite large prey (comparatively to their size). This beetle is Cicindela scutellaris scutellaris, which means it's the nominate subspecies of this particular species (I have another subspecies, C. s. unicolor in my photo album). The beetles in this genus are usually no larger than 2.5cm, though other genera can get much larger. This particular subspecies can be recognized by the metallic red eleytra and blue/green head. They're an amazing group, and always fun to photograph.
Is this guy a member of the screen actor's guild? I think this is the glamour shot for his next gig!
Posted by: cathy | September 21, 2009 at 05:55 AM
Congratulations********************************
To many more happy years together! Love from B.A**********************
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