One up one down

by Leif Sohlman

Title

One up one down

Artist

Leif Sohlman

Medium

Photograph - Photo Photography

Description

beetles on yellow flower outside Enk�pin, Sweden, June 2014.
Canon 5D mk III
The Coleoptera /koʊliːˈɒptərə/ order of insects is commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek κολεός, koleos, meaning "sheath"; and πτερόν, pteron, meaning "wing", thus "sheathed wing", because most beetles have two pairs of wings, the front pair, the "elytra", being hardened and thickened into a sheath-like, or shell-like, protection for the rear pair, and for the rear part of the beetle's body. The superficial consistency of most beetles' morphology, in particular their possession of elytra, has long suggested that the Coleoptera are monophyletic, but growing evidence indicates this is unjustified, there being arguments, for example, in favour of allocating the current suborder Adephaga their own order, or very likely even more than one
Among insects, parental care is very uncommon, only found in a few species. Some beetles also display this unique social behavior.[2] One theory states parental care is necessary for the survival of the larvae, protecting them from adverse environmental conditions and predators. One species, a rover beetle (Bledius spectabilis) displays both causes for parental care: physical and biotic environmental factors. Said species lives in salt marshes, so the eggs and/or larvae are endangered by the rising tide. The maternal beetle will patrol the eggs and larvae and apply the appropriate burrowing behavior to keep them from flooding and from asphyxiating. Another advantage is that the mother protects the eggs and larvae from the predatory carabid beetle Dicheirotrichus gustavi and from the parasitoid wasp Barycnemis blediator. Up to 15% of larvae are killed by this parasitoid wasp, being only protected by maternal beetles in their dens.[18]

Some species of dung beetle also display a form of parental care. Dung beetles collect animal feces, or "dung", from which their name is derived, and roll it into a ball, sometimes being up to 50 times their own weight; albeit sometimes it is also used to store food. Usually it is the male that rolls the ball, with the female hitch-hiking or simply following behind. In some cases the male and the female roll together. When a spot with soft soil is found, they stop and bury the dung ball. They will then mate underground. After the mating, one or both of them will prepare the brooding ball. When the ball is finished, the female lays eggs inside it, a form of mass provisioning. Some species do not leave after this stage, but remain to safeguard their offspring

Featured in group

Amateur Photograph.. 06/08/2014
Canon 5D I or II o... 06/09/2014
Premium FAA Artist... 06/16/2014
Google Gallery 06/20/2014

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June 8th, 2014

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