Hi Steemit family!
Today I will present to you a marvel of insect that I have found. have you ever imagined an insect that is metallic gold? because I present to you the turtle beetle, which besides having the appearance of this noble reptile, also possesses an extraordinary condition, that of changing color or having a metallic color gold. not incredible? not the wonders that nature offers us, let's know something about this species full of mystery, able to leave its eyes wide open if it is the first time you look at it.
Charidotella, commonly known as "Golden Turtle Beetle" is a family of insects of the size of 5-7 mm recognizable by its ability to change reversibly the color of its armor to different colors and patterns, with gold being the most striking.
They are native to North America, very abundant in the state of Florida. They are usually found in the leaves of the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L. Lam.) because it is its main food. They are a species not very deeply studied because its economic potential is not yet exploited.
There are several theories of this color change, but some have been discarded and it was discovered that it is a full physical phenomenon.
The Charidotella turtle beetle is capable of modifying the structural color of its cuticle in a reversible way when they are disturbed by external stress events or when exposed to some irrigation situation. The gold coloration shown by this insect at rest arises from a reflector composed of multiple layers maintained by the presence of moisture between each layer so perfectly that incident rays are reflected as in a mirror, thus giving it the metallic color that characterizes this beetle. While the red color that is visualized, is the result of a change in this reflector by the expulsion of a certain liquid through thousands of pores along its cuticle, turning the multilayer into a translucent slab that leaves an unobstructed view of its true red cover, similar to that of the Coccinellids.
The most impressive thing about the gold tortoise beetles is their ability to control these moisture gradients and layer structures to form patterns and drawings on their wings and shells in response to stimuli from the external environment.
Another characteristic of the Turtle Beetle is that the larvae are able to complement their shell with a thick layer that they form with their waste as raw material, through an anal valve that distributes the excrement over their armor, this tool is called "Anal Fork". It does not have many outstanding functions.
These insects have the ability to eat plants in unprecedented quantities to compensate for the production of their fecal complementary shell, this is because Charidotella has an accelerated digestive system, which has important repercussions on the ecosystem, (they have been considered plague in specific cases).
The Chinese culture says insects are the food of the future, I do not like anything that is of animal origin, but Asians have centuries eating different kinds of insects, including the least desirable in western homes as cockroaches, spiders, crickets. I don't think there is a greater problem with eating one insect than another, in terms of the danger of extinction of some species, since after bacteria and other microorganisms, insects double the human population about 30 times and even more.
Thank you for reading
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