outdoorswithcamera

This brief video (about 7 seconds long) captures a pair of beetles, apparently “Darkling Beetles” (family Tenebrionidae). It shows one beetle touching the other with its antennae.  The video was shot September 5 on Fatman’s Loop trail (Mt. Elden area of Flagstaff, Arizona).  I removed the sound track and edited out most of the effects of the wind using  Final Cut Express.

Click here to watch, courtesy of SmugMug. When you’re done, you can see other images of insects in action.

I welcome comments of any sort, especially letting me know whether or not these are indeed darkling beetles and answering such questions as these:

Are beetles known to do this? If so, what are they doing, and why?