|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Атлас экзотических жуков
Семейство Meloidae (нарывники)
|
|
A great joy of being an
entomologist is so many of the little bugs you discover are SHINY. Today's
Moment of Nature Zen is a great example; this little beetle is only 1.7cm long
(less than an inch), but has enough purple fabulousness on its butt to be a
disco ball at a tiny insect dance
Little insect treasures
like this are all around you, if you stop and look.
Where
does one find shiny purple beetles? I asked Chris Grinter, the
collector-photographer of this beetle and Curatorial Assistant at the Denver Museum of Nature &
Science. Returning from teaching at the... I didn't wander for more than half an hour."
Basically, stop to pee,
then look around and find amazing insects. Some basic entomological techniques
never change.
Why a purple butt
beret?
The
poofy purple butt-cover is made of the two outer wing covers of the beetle, or
elytra. Ginter said "I don't know the function of the
inflated elytra for this species; perhaps all that empty s
That covers why their
behind might be round; but why dimply and shiny? Lots of insects are amazingly
shiny, and the diversity of ways they create their shine is remarkable. Many
of the brightest colored insects don't have pigments - their colors are
structural.