Sickening Beetles Photo Bags First Prize

A gruesome photo of burying beetles feeding on a mouse carcass has won Exeter University PhD researcher Paul Hopwood first prize at NERC’s photography competition.

Paul, who is studying how environmental changes affect the way burying beetles care for their offspring, took the photo after a wild male was attracted by a camera aimed at the mouse.

The beetle then released pheromones to call the female in, who fed on the carcass whilst the male looked after the offspring.

A word of warning: Don’t look at this image for too long.

The entries were judged on how eye-catching the imagery was and their relevance to the applicants’s research.

Judges felt that Paul’s entry made viewers do a double take when they realised the beetles weren’t walking on mud but tearing apart a mouse carcass.

Simon Redfern, Professor of Mineral Physics at University of Cambridge and one of the four judges, said: “Paul Hopwood’s family portrait of burying beetles feasting may make your skin crawl, but it is difficult to take your eyes away from it.”