Death By Tumbling

Readers of this blog, (if there are any....) know that I am an avid photographer of wildlife, specifically of Butterflies. But, every now and then, I'll see an interesting bug and shoot it, too. At this point, I'd like to mention that there is this wonderful website out there where anybody can post a picture of an unknown insect and the good folks that frequent the place, all volunteers of course, will give it a name for you. This is especially good if you've just seen a weird-looking bug that has crawled into your house or one that flew by your head while you were in the backyard working on your tan. This website is called Bugguide.net. I have a page on that site where I post my Butterfly pictures, but it is also a repository of my other kinds of insects - beetles, moths, ants and bees, etcetera. I know you'll just want to click on this link and rush right over to see all the wonderful insects there, but please try to wait until the end of the blog. Here's the link to my page.

When you go there, just remember that the newest pictures I've posted show first and older ones are found by clicking on the page numbers.

One particular bug you'll see there is a beetle I was mighty proud of when it was first posted. It was eventually identified as a Tumbling Flower Beetle, and it's scientific name is Glipa hilaris. Here is what it looks like:

And another view:

The reason I was so proud of this particular insect over others I had photographed was because at the time I posted it, there were no other photographs of this elusive insect known to be in existence. That's anywhere in the world. It had been described a few times, but never photographed. Naturally, after I had posted the first one on Buguide.net, it caused quite a furor for a few days afterwards. Then, a couple weeks later, another photograph of one turned up, this one in Florida, and my euphoria was tempered somewhat. But, I like to think my picture was better because it was the first. So, if there are any Insect Guide Book publishers out there looking to purchase a good photo of this rare insect for your next textbook, you know who you have to see.

And to top it all off, I even saw another one of these beetles and got an even better shot of it. It is pictured below. Isn't it just the greatest beetle you ever saw? Now you can click on that link and go see all the wonderful insects that await!