Hello hivers!
Here is an an amazing bee related story all amazing nature followers will appreciate.
Oil beetles have a surprising and complex life cycle. After first emerging from the ground as tiny louse like insects they make their way to flower heads where they wait for bees to visit. When a bee alights on the flower the infant beetle attaches itself to the bee and gets a ride to the bees nest where it lives, feeding on the food the bee produces for its own young. The beetle will live there until it is an adult a full year later at which point it will leave and emerge on the surface to pursue life as a full fledged oil beetle.
Without the wild bees the beetle could not survive, therefore it’s existence and numbers depends completely on the health and sufficient numbers of these wild bees.
These adult beetles have ferocious appetites - they systematically gnaw through leaves at an amazing speed, it’s quite fun to watch ( well for nature freaks like me it is )
The photos are taken by myself with my Canon Powershot SX60 HS
Thanks for stopping by.
Oohh @sallybeth23 nice to hear from you :)) ❤ your photos, like always, are amazing ❤ you catch them perfectly 👍 I'm sending love from Europa ;)❤
OMG hello beautiful!!!! Its so good to hear from you. Sending you LOADS OF LOVE too!!!!!
Wow! This one looks like something from outer space!! Red eyes! Wearing armory too! What a mysterious world of Oil beetles!
Have a nice day.
They are amazing looking things yes! Thanks for stopping by xx
Quite an exhausting day! It would be nice if I could just drop by your forest through a time portal!
Yikes! He looks like he could take a nip out of ya LOL :)
Well maybe, I dint get my fingers close enough to find out lol
Great macro pictures...It looks so cute and looking for some food I think :)
Have a nice day my friend...
Thanks so much, I really appreciate you stopping by. You have a nice day too.
Wow great photos and great info!
I have never heard of them before. Are they native to certain areas?
Do you know why they are named oil Beetles?
They look really alien with their heads and red eyes don't they. 😀
They are called oil beetles because if you disturb them they ooze oil droplets from their joints! The oil actually contains a poisonous chemical that causes blistering of the skin and painful swelling so definitely dont mess with these guys. There are many different types of oil beetle- The family is called Meloe found in North America and Europe particularly.
ooooh. exceptional shooting. You are lucky that you are not afraid when shooting this. and congratulations my dear friend.
Thank you very much for that kind comment.
Oh, I can't say i love this beetle. Because I have insect phobia. :D But great macro photos.
Thank you so much.... I wouldn't get any closer either haha
You should not close 😆
I'm well amazed after seeing your post!
Great photos, interesting facts, and thanks for sharing 😊
Thank you so much.