Winter Beetle....

Well, this is the first beetle sighting of the year - in February!?

I was looking for something to practice my focus stacking on my camera and was really surprised to see a few of these Alder Leaf Beetles. I can only think that as it's so mild at the moment the temperatures are bringing them out of hibernation. This isn't good as there isn't any food available for them yet...

Anyway, I had some fun practising. All handheld in natural light. The next step is buying a diffuser to use with my flash...