frog legged beetle rear leg abstract

[ap]

hi there
here is an abstract pic of a frog-legged beetle's rear leg. apparently the rear legs are enlarged to attract females....i may be wrong.
canon5dmk4, 5400 at 2.5x, i think about 40micron step length, 3 flashes
andy

[Saul]

Andy,
Beautiful stack, perfect light, great details !

[ap]

thank you saul!
appreciate it
andy

[AlP]

A work of art! This would print most excellent on aluminum.

[Adalbert]

very nice

[MarkSturtevant]

Beautiful! I wonder if the hair-lined curves and notches have a purpose of some sort.

[Guppy]

Hi Andy

Very nice, high res image is excellent.
The lighting is very good, awesome clarity.

Kurt

[ap]

thank you all for your kind comments!

mark - from my reading, the beetles use their hind legs to hold them in place while they feed (they are arboreal). perhaps the hairs help them with traction
the interesting is that there is an enormous sexual dimorphism, with males having much larger legs than females. im not sure its actually been observed in the wild, but it is thought that the males use the hind legs to spar with each other when competing for females - as has been observed in some other beetle families
best andy

[Sumguy01]

Excellent Photo.
Thanks for sharing.

[quenoteam]

Nice.
Great work, sharp and beautiful composition