Jithesh Pai’s Image
Jithesh Pai (India) discovers three tiger beetle larvae waiting in ambush.
Jithesh was watching the mossy wall in his family’s garden.
He’d seen an adult female tiger beetle push its eggs into the loose soil between the bricks. So he started monitoring the wall.
Within days, tiny, armoured larval heads began to appear in the holes.
To ensure every detail was sharp, Jithesh used a technique called focus stacking.
Tiger beetle larvae have large eyes alert to the slightest movement and open wide, needle-sharp mandibles.
They lurk in their burrows, ready to seize whatever stumbles within lunging distance.