Desert Spider Beetle – Anza Borrego

Published April 7, 2010

I noticed these odd looking beetles running across the ground from time to time, but could never catch one sitting still until I noticed this one was stopping at many of the tender shoots of growth on the desert floor. It would run across a patch of open sand, and then stop and stand up on hind legs to get at the small branches of the plant. It may have been feeding on the plant, or gathering moisture, or both. This was taken with a 100-400 IS lens as opposed to a true macro.