I’m not such a fan of it’s name but I do like this bloody nosed beetle drawing. It is from an 1848 book written by Jane W. Louden. She shares her adventures with her family while on holiday on the Isle of Wight. The book is full of wonderful anecdotes and stories about the interesting people they met and all of the plants and animals they encountered during their explorations.
Louden explains that this beetle has such a strange name due to a clever defense mechanism. When threatened, the beetle excretes some blood red fluid from it’s mouth. It’s thought that predators find this fluid quite unpalatable. What you can’t see in this black and white bloody nosed beetle drawing is the shininess of its skin – it reminds me of shiny gunmetal green beads. Louden said local residents told her that the eggs of these beetles are bright orange and the pupa case is green. Quite the colorful bug we have here.
They typically grow about 3/4 of an inch long and are herbivores.
This image is copyright free and in the public domain anywhere that extends copyrights 70 years after death or at least 120 years after publication when the original illustrator is unknown.
