A “smiling” damselfly and shimmering beetle captivated judges in the Royal Entomological Society’s 2024 Photography Competition ...

Caroline Chaboo’s eyes light up when she talks about tortoise beetles. Like gems, they exist in myriad bright colors: shiny blue, red, orange, leaf green and transparent flecked with gold.

They are small ground beetles (Carabidae) that can typically be found in leaf litter and under stones in woodlands and grasslands. Bombardier beetles and some of their relatives are known for using ...