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Alright, I hope your favourite colour is blue because this thread& #39;s theme is Meloe proscarabaeus (Schwarzblauer Ölkäfer/blister beetle)!
Currently they& #39;re everywhere in the area of Flussauen, areas near rivers with regular floodings. Often enough you& #39;d only need to walk a few steps to find the next one, or even less.
Fortunately they& #39;re big and colourful enough to avoid stepping on them, on the ~3km through the forest, I& #39;ve only seen one dead male (they& #39;re much smaller than the females but more about that later).
This one must be a professional model, climbing all the way up a nettle leaf just to clean her antennae. And then the classic looking-over-the-shoulder pose!
Here& #39;s a long one:
And a much shorter male. If you look carefully, his right wing seems to be injured. Maybe by a bird or when he was molting (or both).
Warning: Some sexy pictures ahead. Please avert your eyes if you& #39;re embarrassed by one of the most natural behaviours on this planet.
This lady has her priorities sorted: Ignore the man and get some food.
A video, as promised:
Hope you like them as much as I do and that you enjoyed this thread.
Bonus feather I brought home for Daisy:
