False Oil Beetle

It was miserable and rainy this morning, but I decided to take a chance and go down to the local nature reserve and it turned out to be a good decision. The drizzle stopped just after I arrived and the sun began to shine. I decided I would concentrate on macro shots as there were lots of water droplets on just about everything.

Have you ever noticed when taking macro shots that as soon as you get the tripod set up and the camera focused, the wind gets up? It certainly happened this morning and spoiled several shots.

I walked on and as the sun shone I spotted some false oil beetles flying around and landing on the cow parsley, so I decided to concentrate on them. I got some pleasing shots of them on the flowers and also tried to catch them in flight. This was my best attempt, and while it isn't totally sharp, it gives a good idea of what they look like in flight. I shall try again next time there is a bit of sunshine and see if I can improve on it.