Red Shirt School Beetles

My sister and I have been slaving in the sun today preparing our mother's house for sale. I haven't had time for togging. When I got home it was very dull and raining.

I had to have an insect pic as it is National Insect Week. Nothing for it but to shoot asparagus beetles in the glasshouse using flash. I don't like those dirty-looking, sometimes completely black backgrounds one can get with flash and decided to lay the red shirt out for these colourful beetles as a bit of a jape for NIW. I used MrQ's hot jazz shirt. :)

It made me think of the Red Shirt School of photography which was a trend which first became popular in the 1950s. It was pioneered by National Geographic photographers in the early days of colour who had subjects wear, or chose subjects who wore overly colorful clothes.

The National Insect Week site has a video which ends with the statement, "Most insects are not pests. Insects help keep the balance of nature." These pesky beetles are pests to us, nibbling and laying their eggs on our spears. I do nothing to them other than subjecting them to my camera. :)