BEETLEJUICE ! Hoodie

You see these red soldier beetles all over the place during the British summertime... and knowing a bit about their biology gave me the tenacity to spend some time to wait for this capture to occur... The winged beetles and other flying insects typically possess two pairs of wings. In beetles, the front pair has evolved into short, hardened structures, the elytra, which protect the second pair of wings and the abdomen. This allows beetles to exploit habitats that would otherwise cause damage to the wings and body. I decided to call this image 'beetlejuice' as these soldier beetles must gain their energies for flight by feeding on the pollen of native and wildflower flowering plants such as this yarrow.