Something Shiny

I could see in the distance something shiny and metallic green. Looked like jewellery and sparkled in the morning sun. But no, it was better than jewellery it was a big metallic green beetle! The Green Carabid Beetle (Calosoma schayeri) to be exact.

As I bent to look closer I realised it was dead and so I picked it up and carried it in my hand for the rest of the walk.

The macro lens was quickly set up when I got back to work, it's getting a good workout at the moment and this was the perfect subject! Mr Beetle's beautiful back was his best feature so I chose this shot.

I have great memories of Miss Tiddles years ago spending a long time deeply sniffing one of these. After doing some research about them today I read that if cornered they exude a strong offensive smell to deter predators, it didn't work on her :)