Click Beetle, Athous haemorrhoidalis

May 21, 2010 Pete

This shot of a click beetle, athous haemorrhoidalis, was taken at Rowhill Nature Reserve on the outskirts of Aldershot in Hampshire. Enjoyable first visit, you can walk through woodland and a meadow field. Lens used was my Zuiko Olympus OM 38mm F2.8 at 3.5x magnification. I dialed in minus 1 exposure to avoid putting too much flash light down and over exposing the white background.

The beetle was identified via the Natural History Museum web site forum. Apparently they get this name because they flick themselves in the air emitting an audible click when overturned or attacked.