Golden-spotted Tiger Beetle

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Golden-spotted tiger beetle (Cosmodella aurulenta), photographed on an exposed riverbed in Pakke, Arunachal Pradesh.

Tiger beetles are fast, active predatory insects, and are hence always a challenge to photograph. Managed to make only 3 images of this species (and sighted only 3 to 4 individuals) which appeared to be restricted to a very small patch of riverbed, unlike the other more abundant tiger beetles in this area. I am not sure about the distribution of this species in the Indian subcontinent. It is more widely found in southeast Asia, and this one here could be a distinct NE Indian subspecies (C. a. juxtata).
(Made a classic mistake here- forgot to pay attention to the aperture :(. I had set it wide open for a record shot of a bird.)

Canon 500D, Canon 100mm Macro USM
SS 1/4000
Av 2.8 :(
ISO 400
EC -0.7
Full frame


Thanks, C&C welcome

[Roopak Gangadharan]

Nice one abhishek. brilliant colours and seems to have some deadly bite tools.
TFS
Roopak

[Mrudul Godbole]

The low angle is nice. Good details and colours. A slight off-centered composition would have enhanced the image further. Seems the light was a bit harsh. Thanks for sharing.

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Thanks.
Mrudul: Yes this was harsh afternoon light.
Roopak: I had posted an image of the mouthparts (of another tiger beetle) long back- http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?7248-Bronze-Tiger-Beetle-front-on

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Nice bright coloured fellow. What is its size? The out of focus the shapes of the various rocks look nice. Did you use the high shutter speed to freeze it? Thanks for sharing.

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Sabyasachi: It was about 15mm long. I didn't really need the high shutter speed, that was a mistake. :(