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2015 December 19
by Brittany Ransom

Tracks is an exploratory series of photographic, vidoegraphic, and motion capture images mapping the habitual patterns of bess beetles. The beetles are each affixed with their own trackable "backpack" made from self-adhesive velcro, a small watch battery, and variable light emitting diodes. Because of their necessity to constantly burrow through hard woods like oak, elm, and other deciduous trees, to make tunnels or galleries, these beetles have a unique brute strength that is unrivaled by many other organisms, including human beings. The average bess beetle can pull approximately 112.83 grams of weight. If equated to the average weight of an American (164 pounds), a human would need to be able to pull 18,504 pounds to have the equivalent strength of a bess beetle. Thus making the fabricated beetle ‘backpack’ no more difficult for them to carry than a human wearing a wristwatch.