"LIFE BEETLES: The Little Big Ones" exhibition installed in Madalena, on Pico

Aug. 9, 2024

The macro photography exhibition "LIFE BEETLES: The Little Big Ones", a project of the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Action, is now on display in Jardim dos Maroiços.

This exhibition aims to show the public a different side to insects and try to change the negative perception normally associated with these living beings. The exhibition focuses not only on the project's three target species but also on other endemic insects that are unique to the Azores and some of them unique to the islands where they are found.

The aim is also to raise awareness of the importance of these living beings in nature, whether through pollination, seed dispersal, and the decomposition of organic matter, or for humans through food, clothing, or even our health. Any significant disturbance can cause imbalances with ecological, environmental, and economic consequences. Through the different roles they play in ecosystems, these beings are essential to maintaining their balance.

These types of macro photography exhibitions, in the context of entomology, are rare at the international level. In the Azores, this is only the second time it has been held and, on the island of Pico, it is the first time that photographs of insects have been exhibited at this level of detail and quality. The exhibition will be open until the beginning of October and can also be visited at night, as it has its own lighting, which also gives it a very attractive look!

At the end of your visit to the exhibition, you can leave your opinion on it by answering a short survey, which you can access via the QR code on the exhibition's main totem pole or via the following link https://forms.gle/fPh8k5suBqkhkrKB7.

Find out more about this project at: www.lifebeetlesazores.com/en/