Last summer I found a male and a female palo verde beetle (Derobrachus hovorei) on the same night (hooray!) and decided to photograph them together:

Palo verde beetle (Derobrachus hovorei) battle of the sexes

In the flurry of motion that ensued moments after putting them together, during which time this photo was shot, the female (on the right) sadly lost both antennae and two entire legs to her overeager and highly abusive suitor.  This image was captured in the heat of the battle.

_______________

Unless otherwise stated, all text, images, and video are copyright © 2011 DragonflyWoman.wordpress.com