The wonders of nature

ID: Tortoise shell beetle larvae

The most neglected world, the insect world, or like what Shardul Bajikarji says, the ‘insectdom’, is such a wonderful treasure trove and we can learn so much from them. One such wonder are these tortoise shell beetle’s larvae, accidentally spotted them along the wild growth of monsoon. These wonderfully creepy looking wonders shud be the examples of using waste stuffs(well not literally, coz…). The creepy looking hair like structures, on the back, works as the best way to keep themselves, and its soft and developing shells, from the outer world, and interestingly these petrifying structures are essentially their poop that has been strategically placed to avoid getting easily detected or attacked by predators, and to some extent keeping humans too away, due to the creepy feel. Settled on the Bush morning glory plant(flower is the background of the frame), these, close to 8 of them, seem to be busy gobbling up on the few left out leaves of the plant, without any hindrance, until I noticed them

EXIF:
Canon 80D
Canon 100mm macro
F/14
Shutterspeed 1/250
ISO 250
Built in flash fired, Handheld

Location: Thane

Its such a unique way to keep off the enemy, using ones waste to mask oneself :). So the black tangles are its waste? Good details. Thanks for sharing the detailed information. Look forward to more.

Wow! Such a wonderful camouflage. The tiny world is full of exciting surprises. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi