Very Few Carat Emerald, Pt. 5 - _TNY_4329

Me and my son made a couple of visits to the Mjällådalen nature reserve near Härnösand this (2023) summer, hoping to find Sweden's rarest tiger beetle, Cicindela maritima.

 

Perhaps it was the relatively cold weather, but we didn't find any tigers on either day. What we did find however, were something which I think was even better.

 

Say hello to the green-socks peacock beetle (Elaphrus riparius)!

 

This one is way smaller than a tiger beetle, only about 5 mm (1/5") so the details are quite difficult to make out with the naked eye, but holy moly, did the shots work out!

 

Unlike tiger beetles, these guys aren't as prone to flying away, but on the other hand, they are constantly looking for a way to run away from you.

 

This is where Daniel became incredibly useful. Using his index finger, he could heard the tiny beetle for me and also keep an eye on it while I lifted the camera to check and adjust flash settings and aperture. They are so small that taking your eyes off them means a risk of losing sight of them in the gravel.

 

Part 1 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53022438739/

 

Part 2 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53095690239/

 

Part 3 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53133980657/

 

Part 4 here: flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53398907732/

 

Another shot of the same little guy - but with a pine needle for scale here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53029821698/

 

On another visit we also managed to find a rare red colour form here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53047957138/

 

When we were satisfied with our session with this one, we began moving and pretty much immediately - we found a second peacock beetle! It was a different species however, and you can find it here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53022757128/

Done