The Blue Stag, Pt. 3 - _TNY_1460

I was outside, cleaning the rims on my winter tires when suddenly a beetle landed in the water which had collected on one of the rims.

 

So obviously, I dropped what I was doing, scooped it up and placed it on a small rock and proceeded to look what I had found (or perhaps what had found me I suppose).

 

It turned out to be a beautifully blue little beetle (about 10 mm or slightly less) so I rushed inside for the camera and managed a couple of shots.

 

That evening, I was trying to figure out what it could be and began looking through ground beetles, but couldn't find a match. Almost by accident, I stumbled into stag beetles and realised I had been blessed by a blue stag beetle (Platycerus caraboides) - or possibly the closely related P. caprea. Somewhere along the way, this one had lost one of its antennae - but that's why you have to of them.

 

While related to the absolutely massive European stag beetle, this species is much smaller, but it still look pretty cool, right?

 

Part 1 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/54563581068/

 

Part 2 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/54573006016/

Done