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Description

These guys were one of the few beetles from my latest expedition, it's getting late and beetles are scarcer now. But as I know by now the season is still not over just yet. This is Coptocephala unifasciata, a type of leaf beetle I have not seen before.

EDIT: I found two sources providing conflicting information about the origin of this area- one claims it was caused by fires caused by train brakes, other claims it was actually a result of preventive measures against fires caused by those brakes. Which is the correct one? Hell if I know. But I'm inclined to believe the latter, considering all of the dug up treestumps I saw, treestumps that were formerly highly flammable pines.

The location I visited is one of the strangest I've seen yet. It's protected area, that follows railway and was formed by fires caused by sparks from braking steam trains. Those fires prevented trees from growing there, which allowed all sorts of unique vegetation to thrive. It's also really quite sandy place (it's even nicknamed Sahara) and let me tell you, having very fine sand stick to you when you're baking in the sun and covered in sweat is not very pleasant experience. But I'll have to come back next year, I've seen enough signs that this place is a gold mine of unique insects. I just need to arrive at the scene sooner than at the end of August.

Description

These guys were one of the few beetles from my latest expedition, it's getting late and beetles are scarcer now. But as I know by now the season is still not over just yet. This is Coptocephala unifasciata, a type of leaf beetle I have not seen before.

EDIT: I found two sources providing conflicting information about the origin of this area- one claims it was caused by fires caused by train brakes, other claims it was actually a result of preventive measures against fires caused by those brakes. Which is the correct one? Hell if I know. But I'm inclined to believe the latter, considering all of the dug up treestumps I saw, treestumps that were formerly highly flammable pines.

The location I visited is one of the strangest I've seen yet. It's protected area, that follows railway and was formed by fires caused by sparks from braking steam trains. Those fires prevented trees from growing there, which allowed all sorts of unique vegetation to thrive. It's also really quite sandy place (it's even nicknamed Sahara) and let me tell you, having very fine sand stick to you when you're baking in the sun and covered in sweat is not very pleasant experience. But I'll have to come back next year, I've seen enough signs that this place is a gold mine of unique insects. I just need to arrive at the scene sooner than at the end of August.