Beautiful Beetles

As a child I remember seeing loads of gloriously eye-catching stag beetles, with the males sporting impressive duelling mandibles ready to do battle with their rivals. They seemed impossibly huge, big armoured tanks that could never be defeated; I would never have believed that in a few short years they would be endangered. But it wasn’t just the big and mighty that caught my fancy; I was a fan of all the families. My childhood mission was to rescue as many of them as I could from the stamping, squashing parental gardening boot.

The edict was that beetles were bad, but what child listens to a parents’ disproval of their loved one? Tears & pleading didn’t cut it, so sabotage and rescue were my only options. I wasn’t exclusively a beetle champion; I was out to save anything from the rampaging wellie boots and deadly trowel.

Of course there are always exceptions and ladybirds were seen as ‘good’. I could openly show affection for these colourful predators. I remember the first time I saw one unfurl its wings from beneath their colourful covering. I was amazed at how neatly these delicate wings were stowed away and how large they were. Watching how beetles fly, especially the large armoured variety is a mechanical marvel to me. I am delighted that there seem to be far more ladybirds around this spring; the sketches are of the first one I saw this year.

Colourful Coleoptera, jewel bright and gorgeous, so very few are actually as black as they seem. Many have a green or azure hue and there are so many metallic beauties to be seen in museum collections. My sketch of the blue tinted Minotaur beetle is a case in point. At first glance it appeared to be shiny and black, but as the morning light caught the ridged wing cases it appeared to have depths of hidden blue. It is an altogether impressive beetle, with a commanding name and triple horned appearance, a truly delightful dung beetle.