Yesterday was a gorgeous day to go for an insect treasure hunt. It’s a jackpot day if I can find one insect I’ve never seen before, but there were several yesterday, including two new beetles and one I’ve seen once before but didn’t get a good photo of.
Above is a click beetle with red markings on its abdomen. I don’t have an i.d. yet. It looks a little like the Ampedus genus beetle I saw a couple years ago, but I don’t think it’s the same species. This shot shows you the signature m-shape of a click beetle’s thorax. On the underside of its body, it has a mechanical joint that allows it to snap (with an audible click) and flip back to upright if it’s turtled by a predator.
This tiny, blue-tinged beetle was a happy find. As often happens, I didn’t know at the time that it was a relatively rare insect. There were three of them on the same blade of grass–you can see how small they are from my fingertip in the photo. Insects that are tinted blue are nearly impossible to photograph without specialized equipment, so even though these beetles didn’t move much, I didn’t get any prize-winning photos. I’m fairly sure it’s a Anisostena californica, a type of leaf beetle.
Tiger Beetles are, generally, fast moving, short-flight taking, sometimes colorful predatory insects. This Omus genus tiger beetle is a predator but otherwise defies those norms. It’s flightless, black, and can move along but not at a sprint. As I was driving, I saw this one crossing a road (they are that big.. about two centimeters) and I stopped the car to run back and get a picture. The common name is Night Stalking Tiger Beetle, and they are mostly active after dark. You can see the impressive jaws, crossing over in front of its mouth. There’s a nice profile of an Omus audouini here.
I have some really fun news that I’ll share next time–it involves a new product I’ve been working on for a couple of years.
Cheers!
Ticklehead 
Nice photo! Thanks for the plug!
Absolutely! You’ve got a great blog.
Thanks! As do you. I started following yours also!