Daily Photo: Beetle all-U-can-eat leaf

After a most likely failed job interview, I wondered around Aoyama-itch?me as I’ve never been in that area save for passing by one time on a ride. It has large empty sidewalks and streets that skirt Princess Michiko’s residence (I hear). I stopped in a small park. There were many trees so it was very shady. The ground still had puddles and mud from the previous 4-days of rain. Only after I photographed this beetle eating lunch, did I realize that that park was a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes and that while taking the photo I was bitten at least 11 times!! (4 times on the left buttock alone)

I found this beetle’s eating style interesting. Note how the beetle has first chewed out a circular line and then proceeds to eat that section of leaf from outside in. Why would the beetle bother to mark a circle? Why not just eat until full? Is this a marking of territory? Or does the beetle need to do this so that it does not over-eat? Perhaps it must pre-determine how much food it can eat since maybe it has no “I feel full” sensor in her/his stomach?

EQUIPMENT USED:

• Nikon D80
• Nikkor 18-200mm VR lens

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