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Cassida viridis - Larva The larvae of Cassida viridis carry a camouflage shield made of old skins and faeces (generally addressed by the German word "Kotmaske") Camouflage,Cassida,Cassida viridis,Cassidinae,Cassidini,Chrysomelidae,Chrysomeloidea,Cucujiformia,Green Tortoise Beetle,Green tortoise beetle,Kotmaske,Odontionycha,cassida viridis,nl: Muntschildpadtor Click/tap to enlarge

Cassida viridis - Larva

The larvae of Cassida viridis carry a camouflage shield made of old skins and faeces (generally addressed by the German word "Kotmaske")

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  1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
    Ferdy Christant
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    How cool! Posted 4 years ago
    1. View Pudding4brains's profile
      Pudding4brains
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      Yes, it's a quite peculiar camouflage/defence system - they can raise and lower the "mask" vigorously to scare off predators too. I should have a short video of that somewhere ... Posted 4 years ago
      1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
        Ferdy Christant
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        I had seen similar behavior from trash bugs (lacewings):

        Trash or junk bug - closeup, Orito, Colombia Trash bugs are the larvae of lacewings, of which some show the behavior of collecting debris on its back to protect against predatory lady beetles, who are after the same food: aphids. The trash on their back includes their own egg shells, various pieces of random debris and usually body parts of its many past victims. <br /> <br /> They are tiny, very fast and known to traverse huge distances to find prey. Here's a video of how we discovered it:<br /> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXEJQozU6p8<br /> <br /> From most angles, you'd see part of the legs at most, the rest covered up by the debris but here we got lucky that it showed its awesome head.<br /> <br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/69438/trash_or_junk_bug_orito_colombia.html Colombia,Colombia 2018,Colombia South,Orito,Putumayo,South America,World

        ...and assassin bugs like the infamous Acanthaspis petax. Did not know about some beetles doing the same thing.         Posted 4 years ago, modified 4 years ago
        1. View Pudding4brains's profile
          Pudding4brains
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          Subtle difference is that on the Neuroptera the cover is "fixed" (attached to warts carrying bundles of long hairs). The Tortoise beetle larvae can actually move the shield at will. I found my video of that (very lo-res) but hesitate to put it on utjoop - never uploaded anything there and not a big fan of the whole "we know everything you do and like"-business model .... Posted 4 years ago
          1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
            Ferdy Christant
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            Is vimeo an acceptable alternative for you? Posted 4 years ago

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The Green tortoise beetle

"Cassida viridis", common name green tortoise beetle, is a species of beetle in the leaf beetle family.

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Similar species: Beetles
Species identified by Pudding4brains
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By Pudding4brains

Public Domain
Uploaded Jul 11, 2021.
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