Green Carab Beetle (Calosoma schayeri)

Australia's Green Carab Beetle (Calosoma schayeri) has the polished, almost enamelled look of something that belongs in a display case rather than a paddock. Its metallic green elytra, edged with coppery or golden tones, make it one of the more handsome ground beetles in the Australian landscape.

Calosoma schayeri is found across much of eastern and southern Australia, in habitats ranging from open woodland and grassland to suburban gardens. Like its relatives in the genus Calosoma worldwide, it is an active and voracious predator - both adults and larvae hunt caterpillars and other soft-bodied invertebrates on the ground and in low vegetation. Its appetite for pest caterpillars has earned it a positive reputation among farmers and gardeners, and it is one of a handful of Australian beetles that are widely recognised as beneficial.

The genus Calosoma - the "caterpillar hunters" - is distributed across every continent except Antarctica and includes some of the most effective natural enemies of defoliating moth caterpillars. Calosoma schayeri is the principal Australian representative of this cosmopolitan lineage, and shares the family trait of producing a pungent, oily secretion when handled - a chemical defence that discourages predators but does little to endear the beetle to anyone who picks one up. Its combination of beauty, ecological utility, and chemical truculence makes it a very typical calosomid.

Bugs is a collection of natural history illustration prints drawn from the insect world - beetles, flies, bugs, butterflies, and moths selected for the strangeness, beauty, and variety of their forms.

Each illustration is adapted from Simon Tyler's book Bugs, published by Pavilion in 2017 and subsequently published in French and Chinese. The series draws on the tradition of scientific natural history illustration - precise, considered, and attentive to the details that make each species distinctive.

Insects account for the majority of all known animal species on Earth. This collection is a small survey of what that diversity looks like.

All prints are produced to order on 250gsm archival matte paper using pigment-based inks, chosen for colour accuracy and long-term stability.

Each print is rolled in acid-free tissue and shipped in a rigid cardboard tube, sealed for moisture protection, ready for framing on arrival.

Large · 50 × 70 cm · 20 × 28 in

XLarge · 70 × 100 cm · 28 × 40 in

UK: Free · 3-5 working days

Europe: €8.50 · 3-7 working days · No customs charges

USA & Canada: $8.95 / $12.00 CAD · 5-10 working days

Australia: $14.00 AUD · 5-10 working days

Rest of World: £14.95 · 7-14 working days

All prints are produced to order and dispatched within 1-3 working days. Orders placed before 5pm GMT ship the same day. You'll receive tracking information by email once dispatched.

Orders outside Europe may be subject to local customs charges on delivery - these are the responsibility of the recipient.

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Returns accepted within 30 days. Email returns@axisophy.com with your order number and we'll provide return instructions.

Return postage is the customer's responsibility except where the print arrives damaged or there's been an error - in which case we'll arrange a replacement or refund immediately, no return needed.

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