Nilio species, Tenebrionidae
Gamboa, Panama
I thought this was a chrysomelid leaf beetle for the first few minutes of the photo shoot. It's got such a nice round leaf-beetle shape. Not to mention the bright leaf beetle colors.
But no. The arrangement of the tarsi (5-5-4) and the short, 11-segmented antennae give away its true tenebrionid nature. I'd never seen anything like it.
Tenebrionidae are the darkling beetles, most species have rather drab coloration and a more elongate body form. My labmate Kojun, who helpfully identifies the tenebrionids over at bugguide.net, recognized this one straight away as a species of Nilio.
details: Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x macro lens on a Canon 20D
f/13, 1/200 sec, ISO 100
Inside a white box, indirect strobe
levels adjusted in Photoshop
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