The Flickr Groundbeetle Image Generatr

It only takes one. Basically all the green tiger beetles (Cicindela campestris) running around next to the parking lot at the main entrance to Tyresta National Park where just as shy as always. I caught a few with the camera and one or two couples which were interlocked in mating which nicely enough makes them less prone to escape.

And then there is this one. For starters, she refused to fly and just kept running which makes things so much easier. And then, after a while of shooting, I began hearing her with my hand which also worked - until she jumped onto the hand!

I must have very nice hands or something, buecause she found a finger she liked and stayed there. And kept staying. I had time to take several shots (this one is at 1.8:1 mag) and even used the hand she was sitting on to rotare the ring on the lens to adjust the magnification without her leaving. Then my son called so I took the call and talked to him with Mrs. Tiger still on the finger and after finishing the call, I used the phone camera to film her a little - which can be found here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/54499442618/

A short behind the scenes video of a female green tiger beetle (Cicindela campestris) who, unlike all the other tigers there in Tyresta National Park that day, didn't immediately run or fly away when I got close and instead sat still on my finger for as long as I wanted.

One of the photos taken with the "real" camera here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/54499531235/

At this time of year, right next to the ditch betwee the forest and the (gravel) parking lot at the main entrance to the Tyresta National Park (ie not the one I typically visit) there is a multitude of green tiger beetles (Cicindela campestris) trying to find a mate and bury their eggs in the ground.

Tiger beetle life is built on speed and they are pretty much always jumpy, but when hooking up like these two, it is actually a bit easier to get close. The tricky part (apart from the sneaking) is to line up the focus plane so you get an eye on each of them in focus which sorta worked here.

This sleek beetle with the nice metallic paintjob is a rainbow greenclock beetle (Poecilus versicolor). Like most ground beetles, this species relies on its speed, but for hunting and for getting out of trouble so getting it to stay still for a couple of photos wasn't super easy, but in the end we got a couple of workable snaps.

Like the species name "versicolor" indicates, this one doesn't always have the same colour. Here is a shot of one taken about a kilometer east of this one a couple of years earlier: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53427082058/

From this particular angle, this female green tiger beetle (Cicindela campestris) came out looking especially sinister. I mean, with this meancing jaws and large eyes, they have a pretty serious look to them to begin with, but there is something extra here.

This is a two-exposure focus stack since she decided to stay still and also because the new Godox V860III recharges in like an instant compared to the older unit. Photo taken near the Stenbäcken creek outlet into the Nedre Dammen pond at Åva-Stensjödal in Tyresta National Park,south of Stockholm, Sweden in mid-April of 2025.

A really close (3.7:1 mag) portrait of the same girl here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/54457008154/

Really quite stoked with getting a couple of captures of this mating pair of green tiger beetles (Cicindela campestris) using the MP-E65mm lens.

It took a bunch of tries, but I eventually managed to line up properly to get the eyes of both of them in focus at the same time.

Part 1 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52889278981/in/

Part 2 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53054955074/

H10 Road North of Lower Sabie, Kruger NP, Mpumalanga, SOUTH AFRICA

H10 Road North of Lower Sabie, Kruger NP, Mpumalanga, SOUTH AFRICA

H10 Road North of Lower Sabie, Kruger NP, Mpumalanga, SOUTH AFRICA

Say hello to a green-socks peacock beetle (Elaphrus riparius). This species is normally beautifully green (like so: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53041702988/) but this is a really cool - and really red - colour morph.

I found these last summer together with my son in the Mjällådalen Nature Reserve near Härnösand, Sweden, and for this year's first visit, we found even more of them.

These are quite small at around 7 mm / .27" but are quite fast so shooting them isn't that easy.

For a rundown on how we team up to get the photos (plus a photo of him in action on location), have a look here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53837547506/

Part 1 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53837539276/

Part 2 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53889458761/

Merthyr Mawr Warren Nature Reserve - South Wales

Merthyr Mawr Warren Nature Reserve - South Wales

So for the 2025 season, I've upgraded my flash from a Godox TT685 to a much faster recycling Godox Ving 860III and also
built myself a new flash diffuser for it. This took me some time and some prototyping, but this week I finally got v1 of my Handmaid diffuser completed and so far I am very pleased. Photos showing the design chioces will follow eventually.

Today, the season started for me when I took the new diffuser to Åva-Stensjödal in Tyresta National Park, south of Stockholm, Sweden, to try it out. This was a bit on the early side and there wasn't much out and about to shoot - but this lone female green tiger beetle (Cicindela campestris) was running around in small a dirt slope facing to the south which I know is a good spot for them (and incidently also v-fronted jumping spiders).

At first we did the typical dance with them running around and me trying to keep up and get a shot in here and there - but then she decided she was done for a while and parked right in front of me, face towards me!

Very happy for the opportunity, I was able to try various magnifications and settings all the way in to the maximum 5:1 of my lens. This one is "only" 3.7:1 which in itself is a ridiculously high mag to shoot live tiger beetles.

The way I can tell (I think) that this is a female is by the size of the mandibles. While there certainly are impressive, the males have even larger ones which they use to grab around the thorax of the female when mating.

Looking at the blue spots on the elytra of this copper peacock beetle (Elaphrus cupreus), you have to think the peacock part is quite fitting. The title says "Regular copper" - so what is regular about it? Well, not long after shooting this one in the Mjällådalen nature reserve near Härnösand, Sweden, I spotted a spectacularily green colour form of the same species.A good photo of that one can be found here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53846782368/

These guys are small (~5 mm / .2") and fast runners so shooting them with the required high magnification isn't easy. Here, I had very nice help from my son who kept them in check while I tried to photograph them. A shot of that can be found here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/54443269788/

Another one of the absolutely gorgeous green-socks peacock beetles (Elaphrus riparius) which run around (seriously running around) on the sand banks in the Mjällådalen nature reserve near Härnösand, Sweden.

Right here, me and my son had it temporarily confused which made it stay still for long enough to snap two shots of it and combine them into one with more depth of field. It did however not staty still enough fto allow me to let Zerene Stacker combine the shots so I had to manually combine them in Photoshop instead.

Part 1 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53041702988/

Part 2 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53236860328/

Part 3 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53572443722/

Part 4 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53687715770/

Part 5 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/54003331827/

A short clip of the location where I found this one here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53042074405/

There are six species of peacock beetles in Sweden and so far, I've managed to photograph two of them (plus a spectacular red form of this one) and I made a separate album so if you want about 45 shots of these little gems, please have a look here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/albums/72177720309780234

Lower Sabie Camp, Kruger NP, Mpumalanga, SOUTH AFRICA

Lower Sabie Camp, Kruger NP, Mpumalanga, SOUTH AFRICA

Lower Sabie Camp, Kruger NP, Mpumalanga, SOUTH AFRICA

Lower Sabie Camp, Kruger NP, Mpumalanga, SOUTH AFRICA