Lamprima adolphinae
| Distribution: | Indonesia & Papua New Guinea |
| Size: | 15-65mm |
| Diet: | Wood & fruit |
This particular specimen is a lovely emerald green colour, but you’ll also find metallic red, gold, brown, purple and blue Lamprima Adolphinae. You can see why they’re also referred to as jewel stag beetles. It was a real joy to capture the different colours that were picked out by the light after photographing this specimen – you’ll see this detail better below.
Like all stag beetles, the oversized mandibles are primarily used for fighting over mates / food and looking really very cool indeed.
I’m using this drawing in my Beautiful Bugs book to illustrate insect anatomy, hence the single exposed wing.
Take a closer look…
