I wasn’t going to put up a readers’ wildlife feature today, but Jacques Hausser from Switzerland sent me a series of lovely beetle drawings that he did to illustrate Christmas cards. So here’s his Christmas card to us. Jacques’ commentary:
Just before the era of digital photography, I realised that I didn’t know anything about entomology. To begin with insects, I decided to draw (and to try to identify) some coleopterans. This virtuous decision didn’t survive the arrival of my first digital camera, and I turned to photography. During this cloudy and rainy December, I looked back at these old drawings, and I thought it was a good idea to use them to make some Christmas gifts. Then, as I hadn’t sent any valuable photos to Jerry for a long time, I thought I’d submit the result to “Readers’ wildlife photos” even if they are not photos. I arranged the drawings in three plates without respect for the relative size of the beetles or their systematic position. And a caveat: some names may be old, and I cannot exclude a mistake!
There are three plates (in order), and I’ll put the identifications of the beetles below the fold. Click to enlarge.
Plate 1:
Plate 2:
Plate 3:
Click “read more” for the IDs:
Names are given from left to right in each row:
Plate 1:
Acilius sulcatus, Agonum dorsale, Cetonia aurata, Clytra quadripunctata, Pachyta quadrimaculata
Trichodes alvearius, Pterosychus metallicus, Cicindella sylvicola, Balaninus tesselatus, Chrysochloa gloriosa
Chalcoides aaurata, Cantharis rustica. Badister bipustulatus, Coccinella septempunctata, Anthoxia nitidula
Plate 2:
Adelastica alni, Calathus melanocephalus Agapantia v¡olacea, Cicindella campestris, Clytus arietis
Trichodes apiarius, Ctenicera virens, Lebodostomis longimana, Liparus germanus, Chalcoides aurata
Propylea 14-punctata, Notiophilus biguttatus, Gaurotes virgineus, Hister purpurascens, Leptura maculata
Plate 3:
Agonum 6-puncttatum, Aphodius rufipes, Carabus cf granulatus, Leptinotarsa decemlineata, Leptura bifasciata
Malthodes trifurcatus. Malysia 14-guttata, Hoplia argentata, Mordella fasciata, Oreocarabus hortensis
Selatosomus aeneus, Trichius fasciator, Sphaeridium scaraboides, Phyllobius urticae, Opatrum sabulosum
Wow! Impressive drawings, Jacques!
Truly spectacular drawings!
These are absolutely incredible. Just gems.
Thank you for sending this in.
Beautiful!
Jewel like, so beautiful.
I didn’t know that that photo of Hili and Cyrus would appear by my name but what a pair they were.
Jewel like, so beautiful.
Super great!
Fantastic! What mediums did you use? Looks like colored pencil with maybe some watercolor?
Yes, I’m using the excellent pencils “Prismalo” form Caran d’Ache (a Swiss brand). You can draw and then modify the result with a small paintbrush dipped in water.
Beautiful!
Splendiferous paintings, Prof. Hausser! Do you sell prints of these? I love them so much.
I know I’d buy a box of greeting cards from you in a heartbeat.
No, I don’t.
Gorgeous. What a nice Christmas present for the readers of WEIT.
Beautiful work! Pen and ink with watercolor? Exquisitely rendered!
This is marvelous! Color pencil and watercolor? What happens if you make a mistake? (I would!)
A ggod soft plastic eraser does miracles ! But it is better to keep the mistakes in the first step, that is the light black and white sketch…
Very nice work, enjoyable to contemplate.
Holy Science and Art Batman! Those are exquisite drawings!
These are lovely!
Merry Christmas Jerry. Your work and that of readers is appreciated.
Beautiful, Jacques😻
I really enjoyed these, what a great way to spend one’s time- drawing/painting beetles!
These are wonderful, Jacques! A collection of these would make a nice book.
Very nice indeed!
Excellent stuff!
Wonderful! Thank you for sending these in.
This wonderful example in technical art form protracts a great realization of the diversity of life. Could there be a better clue to this all happening by chance?
Well done!
Really really lovely. It would be a delight to have these as a series of prints.
I just checked: you can download them directly from WEIT. Help yourself, every reader interested! For printing, the rendering is OK on photographic paper glossy, size A4.