Wednesday 17 March 2021

A Number Of Insects,

have earned the name, 'Living Jewels',

and here is another contender, the golden tortoise beetle, (Aspidimorpha sanctaecrucis), the beetles can be found in the South-eastern Asian countries like China, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, North East India, Vietnam and Indonesia, and can reach a length of about 14 mm photograph Kepik Emas/Flickr,


Susanta Nanda, of the Indian Forest Services, who recently tweeted a short clip featuring a bunch of golden tortoise beetles crawling on a person’s hand,

and they fly! the beetle owes its name not only to the golden pattern on their back, but also from the transparent carapace that covers their bodies and acts as a defence against predators, it protects their wings, but the beetle can also retract underneath it in case of danger, just like a tortoise, I am only surprised that living in Thailand for so long I have never seen one, but there it is, something to look out for next time we are in a jungle!


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