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metallic beetle


metallic beetle
Photo Information
Copyright: jaap polak (carper) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1973 W: 119 N: 2582] (8439)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2005-04-17
Categories: Insects
Camera: Canon Powershot Pro1
Exposure: f/3.5, 1/1000 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): my best 25 photos, Magnificent Macros [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2005-04-18 3:06
Viewed: 10098
Favorites: 3 [view]
Points: 68
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
chrysolina fastuosa
The Coleoptera, or beetles, includes many commonly encountered insects such as ladybird beetles (family Coccinellidae), click beetles (Elateridae), scarabs (Scarabaeidae), and fireflies (Lampyridae). They live throughout the world (except Antarctica), but are most speciose in the tropics.

The oldest beetle fossils are from the Lower Permian (about 265 million years old; Ponomarenko, 1995); since then the group has diversified into many different forms. They range in size from minute featherwing beetles (Ptiliidae), adults of which are as small as 0.3 mm long, to the giant Goliath and Hercules beetles (Scarabaeidae), which can be well over 15 cm. While most species are phytophagous, many are predacious, or fungivores, or are parasitoids. They communicate to one another in many ways, either by use of chemicals (e.g. pheromones), sounds (e.g. stridulation), or by visual means (e.g. fireflies). They live in rainforest canopies, the driest deserts, in lakes, and above treeline on mountains.

In one sense the most unusual property of beetles is not some aspect of their structure or natural history, but their sheer number. There are more known species of Coleoptera than any other group of organisms, with over 350,000 described species. Perhaps the most famous quote about beetles comes from the great population geneticist J.B.S. Haldane, who was asked what might be learned about a Creator by examining the world. His response: "an inordinate fondness for beetles" .

Characteristics
The most distinctive feature of beetles is the hardening of the forewings into elytra; it is from this that they get their formal name (koleos - sheath, pteron - wing). The elytra serve to protect the more delicate hind wings, as well as the dorsal surface of the abdomen, and may have been a key factor allowing them to exploit narrow passageways (for example, in leaf litter and under bark). During flight the forewings are opened enough to allow the hind wings to unfold and function:

Other derived characteristics of beetles are:

hind wings folded under elytra, with reduced venation
hind two thoracic segments (mesothorax+metathorax=pterothorax) broadly connected with abdomen, so that the primary functional units of body are head / prothorax / pterothorax + abdomen, rather than the more typical head / thorax / abdomen of many other insects.
genitalia retracted into abdomen
adult antenna with 11 articles
Beetles are holometabolous insects, normally with adecticous, exarate pupae. Most species have chewing mouthparts. There is a gula present on the undersurface of the head. You can click here for the whole interesting article.

Well this is a tryl. I must try the setting for the macro photo of the new camera. I am a quick learner I hope you like the shot.
dew77, red45, Janice, puffy, TAZ, elroyie, marhowie, gerhardt, Comandante, hummingbird24, liquidsunshine, thistle, sAner, AndyB, jhm, Callie, JeanMichel, Clochette, flagman has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

Superbe photo Jaap ! Un portrait de ce coléoptère très réussi et bien en couleurs. Une très bonne note également.
Bravo !
Nico.

  • Great 
  • dew77 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4432 W: 248 N: 4028] (13270)
  • [2005-04-18 3:19]

Wonderful macro shot Jaap!
Details,sharpness,DOF and BG are excellent.
TFS...

  • Great 
  • Sneza Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Silver Note Writer [C: 94 W: 27 N: 16] (672)
  • [2005-04-18 3:38]

Very good macro.
I like composition and DOF.
Nice sharpness and details.
Good colours.
Well done.

  • Great 
  • red45 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2636 W: 74 N: 9100] (31094)
  • [2005-04-18 4:27]

Jaap, superb macro! I love its colorfull and shining body. Great details and POV. TFS!

Halo Jaap!
Wonderful colours. It must be difficult to make photo of so many colours with its shadows.
Congratulations!

  • Great 
  • Janice Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3277 W: 148 N: 6163] (18832)
  • [2005-04-18 5:26]

Excellent macro shot Jaap. He is very sharp and I love his irridescent colours. Detail and pose are great. Well done.

  • Great 
  • puffy Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 289 W: 0 N: 339] (1351)
  • [2005-04-18 6:07]

Excellent macro shot Jaap, sharp, crispy and details is just wonderful! Great colours too. what a shot!!! Well done, thanks for sharing.

  • Great 
  • TAZ Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2241 W: 47 N: 3167] (10926)
  • [2005-04-18 7:34]

Très belle et intéressante macro pour ce superbe insecte. Magnifiques couleurs métallisées sur la carapace et bonne netteté grâce à la profondeur de champ bien adaptée.
Very Well Done !!!

Excellent colours and very good macro shot, the background is little bit distracting.
Very good and informative note.

Excellent work my friend! Great sharpness and details and you've captured the metallic reds and greens extremely well. Well composed with very nice POV also. Very well done Jaap!

Its so nice to see the new tool at work. And so finelly captured photo. The colors Jaap is really impressive. I think the subject is just as interesting. Excellent capture. The DOF is a tiny bit shallow. I think the setting F3.5 @ 1/1000s could have given you a greater DOF if you sacrificed some shutterspeed. F8 @ 1/500s maybe? But its a fantastic sight none the less. Great shot, Jaap.

Nice capture, very nice colours on the bug. Good POV and pose as well.
Well done.
TFS.

Wow.. Fantastic photo Jaap. The colours on this little beatle is just amazing.

Goed gedaan Jaap.
Groetjes
Elize

Excellent macro!
Colors,details,DOF and composition are perfect!

Very good capture Jaap. Good detail, color and information on subject. The POV is wonderful. TFS.

Jaap, This is a wonderful shot.
Everything about this shot is just perfect. That's the only word I need to mention.
Straight into my favourites.
Thankyou Jaap.

Great shot Jaap!
The POV is simply perfect. The composition and colours also great. Superb details.
I like it very much.
Well done!

  • Great 
  • AndyB Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1366 W: 32 N: 1351] (3982)
  • [2005-04-18 16:18]

Hello Jaap,A very nice capture and a great macro with your new camera.
Colours and composition are excellent,the DOF very good too.
These beetles are very tiny,youve captured the details of this one very well indeed.
Very well done.
I'm looking forward to seeing your dragonfly shots this season.

  • Great 
  • Toni Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 403 W: 2 N: 316] (2034)
  • [2005-04-18 16:51]

Very interesting composition with stunning colours. Seems surreal but very beautiful.
Well done.
Toni

  • Great 
  • Graal Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Silver Note Writer [C: 751 W: 31 N: 20] (5100)
  • [2005-04-19 3:20]

Hi Jaap!
Very good macro.Beautiful colours of beetle, good composition and sharpness. Interesting note. Well done.
Regards,
Aleksander

  • Great 
  • sAner Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1462 W: 74 N: 1428] (4750)
  • [2005-04-19 6:12]

Superb colors Jaap! Very good POV and very well composed. Sharp details. This is a picture to love. TFS! :)

  • Great 
  • jhm Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 893 W: 0 N: 507] (1853)
  • [2005-04-19 13:11]

Beste Jaap,
Weer zo eentjes om van te snoepen, inderdaad het is een schitterend kever, en u heeft hem perfect geplaatst, mij complimenten voor deze.
Bedankt voor het plaatsen.
John.

  • Great 
  • livios Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2150 W: 319 N: 4263] (16942)
  • [2005-04-19 22:24]

Jaap, needless to say this is excellent shot with your Pro1.

Great and brilliant colors, excellent pov and composition.

Congratulations.

Very good macro Jaap.
Your new camera works well.
Good POV, DOF, details, great colours and note-
Well done, my friend

  • Great 
  • optic Gold Star Critiquer [C: 322 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2005-04-20 7:43]

Superb photo Jaap, i like the fantastic colours & composition, dof & sharpness are great you did a very nice work 10/10 !

Have a nice day,

Christian

  • Great 
  • Callie Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1102 W: 95 N: 2611] (7555)
  • [2005-04-24 11:17]

Jaap
Wat 'n mooi jas aan sy bas! Pragtige gogga, Love the pov and the position in the frame well done, TFS

Colors are striking here, and you've got them very well expressed. Very well composed too, Jaap, with the beetle just at the edge of the leaf (a good trick to remember :-). Not bad at all for a try of your new camera. Congratulations.

Nice one, the title is welle choosen, good composition, excellent DOF.

Regards,

Vincent

Wow, Jaap !... Does this really exist ?... ;-)

Excellent shot, wonderful colors. Thank you so much for sharing !

Stunning colours and detail, on the beetle and even on the leaf. Excellent POV.
Very useful note also.

  • Great 
  • NINIX Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 158 W: 47 N: 355] (3001)
  • [2005-07-31 17:14]

Hi Jaap,

I found this one on your homepage.
Wow, beautifull colours. Excellent picture.

Thanks,

Hendrik.

  • Great 
  • kency (438)
  • [2005-09-06 8:51]

Waar heb je deze ontdekt Jaap,op mars?
Zeer goede reflectie,scherp en mooie kleuren
nog bedankt.........kency.

  • Great 
  • sway Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 305 W: 85 N: 319] (1276)
  • [2005-09-07 1:22]

HI Jaap,
wow. I wish my suit of armour was this colour!
I love the colours.
Perfect DOF.
:)

Excellent Job, wonderful photo!!!

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