Beetle – In Photos dot Org

I spotted this nasty looking fella on a trail in Killarney last weekend. We hoped to catch the rutting but the weather was terrible, and stags were shy. No fights but a few photos to post later..

Anyway, this guy was huge! This page says they’re about 2.8 cm, but I swear he was bigger. His tail comes up like a scorpion, and he scampered quickly across the ground, making him hard to photograph.

A ferocious and fast predator, the Devil’s coach horse beetle hunts invertebrates after dark in gardens and on grasslands. It is well-known for curling up its abdomen like the tail of a scorpion when defending itself.
wildlifetrusts.org

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a beetle like this before, but apparently they’re common!

Aperture	ƒ/5
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	150mm
ISO	1250
Shutter speed	1/500s

A Volkswagen Beetle in Blarney reminds me that not everyone has bought a shiny new car. It even has the old style number plates. Does anyone know what year and county “WFI” relates to?

I love how this image is framed by the old fence. B&W works particularly well because of the timeless nature of the subject.

If you know Blarney, this was shot from the car park of Blarney Castle and I posted a shot of the other side of this building in my Emerald House B&B post a while back.

PS. New theme, what do you think?
PPS. David Lavery has posted the Photographer of the Year results on the Mallow Camera Club website. 1 point more and I would have drawn on 3rd place in the novice section.

Aperture	ƒ/9
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	22mm
ISO	200
Shutter speed	1/125s