Green, Fast, Deadly - _TNY_7399
The green tiger beetle (Cicindela campestris), just like all tiger beetles, are predators, using their extreme speed to chase down their prey which is then grabbed using those large mandibles.
Unfortunately, this means that they are equally good at running away from me and my camera and to make matters worse, they of course can also fly to get away.
Photographing these is truly an excercise in patience. You spot one, get down on your stomach, inch closer and almost get it in focus - and then it run half a meter, inch closer again, run away yet again - and then you repeat that a couple of more times before it opens up the elytra, unfold the wings and promptly fly back to where you started.
But then again, look at them - they're worth the effort.
Green, Fast, Deadly - _TNY_7399
The green tiger beetle (Cicindela campestris), just like all tiger beetles, are predators, using their extreme speed to chase down their prey which is then grabbed using those large mandibles.
Unfortunately, this means that they are equally good at running away from me and my camera and to make matters worse, they of course can also fly to get away.
Photographing these is truly an excercise in patience. You spot one, get down on your stomach, inch closer and almost get it in focus - and then it run half a meter, inch closer again, run away yet again - and then you repeat that a couple of more times before it opens up the elytra, unfold the wings and promptly fly back to where you started.
But then again, look at them - they're worth the effort.