A collection of beetles at the Insectarium de Montreal which I visited earlier this month. This picture was shot through the vitrine glass.
There are 350,000-400,000 described species of beetles; estimates suggest there may be a million or more species of them all told. These are just some of the most spectacular and shiny ones — jewels, predominately, of the tropics.
Some beetles captured by my lens can be seen here.
I love, love, love Montreal’s Insectarium! Great beetle pic here.
Here’s another cool beetle pic–a globe made from beetles at a Belgian museum:
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/93051314@N00/2714129123/
Whoa! Took a second to get the depth of field/sense of scale in that picture!