Soldier beetle. High-speed photograph of a soldier beetle (Cantharis sp.) in flight. The beetle has just taken off from a flower and its wing cases (e

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Soldier beetle. High-speed photograph of a soldier beetle (Cantharis sp.) in flight. The beetle has just taken off from a flower and its wing cases (elytra) are raised above the wings. The cases are used to protect the beetle's fragile wings when they are not in use. Soldier beetles are predatory insects, native to Britain and much of Europe. They wait by flowers for other insects coming to feed on nectar and pollen.

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Size: 3736px × 5429px
Photo credit: © DR. JOHN BRACKENBURY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: animal, beetle, biological, biology, british, cantharis, elytra, entomology, european, fauna, flight, flower, flying, high-speed, insect, insectivore, insectivorous, invertebrate, invertebrates, leatherwing, nature, photography, plant, predator, predatory, soldier, sp., wildlife, zoological, zoology