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Laccophilus pictus – Predaceous Diving Beetle
Arizona, USA
Here’s one of my favorite Arizona insects. Laccophilus pictus is a small diving beetle, less than a centimeter long, that is common in small ponds and streams in the mountains south of Tucson. It’s also one of the beetles that we’re using as an exemplar taxon for the Beetle Tree of Life project. Very pretty, no?
photo details. Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x macro lens on a Canon 20D
f/13, 1/250 sec, ISO 100
beetle in small aquarium
illuminated with MT-24-EX twin flash