Tortoise beetles

Description:

The tortoise beetles are an artificial grouping of tribes within the leaf beetle subfamily Hispinae. In past classifications, they have been variously placed as a family ("Cassidae") or a subfamily (Cassidinae); when it was recognized that this group was not monophyletic, it was split and the resulting tribes were incorporated into the Hispinae. Some of the tribes that are considered "tortoise beetles" in the historic sense are the Cassidini, Dorynotini, Hemisphaerotini, Ischyrosonychini, and Mesomphaliini. Their common name arose from the superficial resemblance some species bear to tortoises, the elytra being analogised with the tortoise's carapace. Tortoise beetles (and also ladybeetles) can fully retract their antennae and feet into their shell. This is particularly useful for ladybird beetles who often feed on insects that are being protected by ants. Ants cannot bother either of these beetle species. (contributed by Martinl - http://www.projectnoah.org/users/martinl... )

Notes:

Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Cassidinae, Mesomphaliini