Providing a sense of scale in macro photographs is difficult; by definition, macro photography is the reproduction of subjects at life-size, meaning 1:1 or better. Having common environmental elements in the frame can help provide a reference for the subject, but due to the extremely narrow field of view that isn’t always possible.
In this case, it’s unlikely that many people are familiar with parsley blossoms, to know just how small the flowers shown here really are, so there is no good frame of reference for the carpet beetles themselves.
Allow me to provide one: these carpet beetles are smaller than the diameter of a pencil eraser. Which is to say, they are very, very small. So small that they are difficult to notice in the first place, and exceptionally difficult to photograph due to their size, even absent any movement or the merest breath of wind!
A colony of carpet beetles took up residence in my parsley last summer, and I struggled – and enjoyed the challenge – of photographing them over the course of several weeks. It was difficult to tell what impact that had on my herb, if any – at such a small size it would seem that they could not do much damage, but then again, with insects size-to-damage can be deceiving.
I didn’t see them return this summer, but will definitely be keeping a sharp eye out for them in future seasons!