Aliens in the Midden

While searching for arthropod subjects to photograph on Steve’s property, we decided to check the compost/midden pile and found something completely unexpected.

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Gold and Brown Rove Beetle – Staphylinidae-Ontholestes cingulatus, Farmington, MO

These beetles were crazy to watch – super speedy while flipping their gold-tipped abdomens over their backs in display.  These guys yield even more support to my contention that the vast majority of ideas used in the sci-fi genre (particularly the creature-features) were taken from somewhere within the natural world.

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Gold and Brown Rove Beetle – Staphylinidae-Ontholestes cingulatus, Farmington, MO

Check out those chompers!

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Gold and Brown Rove Beetle – Staphylinidae-Ontholestes cingulatus, Farmington, MO

-OZB