Recently I visited the Entomology department of National Museums Liverpool to look at their insect collection and take a few photos. Seeing this collection is an idea we’ve had for a while as aspects of my photography and her printmaking have crossed over in this area.
As we didn’t know what was there, this was a preliminary visit to familiarise ourselves with the space and see what might interest us. It was fascinating to see just a small amount of what was tucked away in the draws of the cabinets.
Carabus Nitens beetle.
I took a few photos to start with so I had something to take away and look at so I could think about how to improve the photos in the future.
Goliath beetle.
Shell of a Hercules beetle.
Eye of the Hercules.
These are some of the photos I have taken for now, but I see this as a long term project with multiple visits. Realistically next year will be the time to fully dig into this, but it could be exciting! Let me know what you think in the comments below and special thanks to Angelica Vanasse for arranging this visit.
As an extra, I’ve added a video below of a video I found of a Hercules beetle develop from a larvae to the beetle. I thought it was fascinating, but if you’re a bit squeamish and don’t like wriggly things you might not want to watch it!