Ground Beetle Macro Photography

Ground Beetles, Ants and Centipedes have two things in common; they all like to do keg-stands, and they’re the hardest arthropods to photograph because they never stop moving. These shots represent dozens of failed attempts. This Beetle was compliant throughout an extensive series of studio focus stacks. I quieted him in a most peculiar way. Supposedly when you touch the nose of a Shark, it enters a trance and becomes subdued. For some reason, the idea fell upon me to take a straightened paper clip and push against the inside of the Beetle’s large mandibles. It caused him to stay still like a statue. I doubt the effect would be repeatable with other Beetles, but with this one it did the trick.

I’ve made observations of Ground Beetles in the field doing immensely interesting things. I found one that had just devoured a Millipede, with the Millipede’s disheveled rear-end sticking out of the beetles mouth. On another, I saw a tiny moving speck racing around the Beetle’s body. I snapped a quick photo and enlarged it; it turned out to be a mite. When I caught one Ground Beetle it emitted a repellent chemical that smelled like the foulest sour foot cheese you can imagine.

The details that super macro photography reveals never ceases to amaze me. You can clearly see the row of spiracle punctures running along the elytra. These holes are how the Beetle breathes. I was shocked by the Beetle’s beautiful cobalt margins, otherwise invisible. I also thought it was interesting that there’s a large transparent lens covering the Beetle’s compound eye, where other insects have compound eyes with the individual lenses exposed. There are also apparently several species of Ground Beetle in my backyard, as the photos revealed that some have a smooth carapace while others have ridges.  Overall, nature created quite a chiseled sculpture in the ground beetle.