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Subfamily: Cryptocephalinae
Small extremely iridescent beetle with a smooth and shiny thorax and beautiful shimmering elytra. The beetle had perhaps just landed and was in the process of folding-in it's hind wings ( Pic1). The elytra appeared a little too short to completely cover the hind wings and abdomen. The antennae had about 11 segments.
Spotted resting on a flowering shrub in a nature reserve.
The adult females of this species cover their eggs, individually, with a layer of excrement. The eggs hatch and the larva is said to shelter within the case made of dry excreta, to which layers are added by the larva. Because they carry these 'cases' on their backs, this species of beetles is known as the case-bearing beetle. they ae also called cylinder leaf beetle. Family: Chrysomelidae.
Spotted on Nov 27, 2013
Submitted on Nov 27, 2013
3 Comments
Thanks Martin. have learnt something new.I think it is 11 antennal segments. I did not include the scape.
A nice pose showing the wings Leuba. Case bearing beetles usually have their elytra a bit short. I understand that all chrysomelidae have eleven antennae segments. This is a feature that might easily be variable but seems to be consistent.
Wow how do those wings fit in there. Movie next time?