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Colossal Tortoise Beetle

Eugenysa colossa

Photo by Dan Doucette
Published on Project Noah
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0.98872, -76.6296

Field Notes

Description:

black edged with dark red, they are mating in photos, 3,4,5,6

Habitat:

tropical rainforest, amazon

Notes:

On my way to Mandiyaco gorge, our bus broke down. While we waited to be picked up I looked around for spottings. I found a bush with at least a dozen of these beetles on it. Many were mating.

Species ID Suggestions

Colossal Tortoise Beetle

Eugenysa colossa

Reference Link
Jacob Gorneau
1

Comments (19)
Dan Doucette
Thanks LandmarkExpert and ceherzog. Yeah, they just walked off the bush on to my hand, without interruption!
ceherzog
Wow! You made them mate on your arm? HAHA Excellent find!
Dan Doucette
Thanks Karen and Lauren. Bit of a misnomer for the name I guess, it was only about 1cm.
LaurenZarate
Gorgeous! How big was it, if it is called Colossal....?
Jacob Gorneau
bayucca, if you check out the video, it is actually a bluish color: http://youtu.be/mDh6OkLoAgE
bayucca
Why not Eugenysa regalis? http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/27273118
Jacob Gorneau
I remembered this video from a week or so ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDh6OkLoAgE&feature=youtu.be I did some searching around the genus, and there it was.
Dan Doucette
Thanks J and Adarsha. Great common name! How'd you find the ID J?
Jacob Gorneau
Please, confirm the ID! Eugenysa seems to be the correct genus, although in the reference link, it is hard to tell if the beetle is dark blue or black. I think it is black, as is yours. Another similar species is Agenysa peruviana, but that is usually an iridescent blue, and the red does not continue as much. Agenysa peruviana: http://www.flickr.com/photos/coleoptera-us/6961140449/in/gallery-canndis-72157627644544916/

Spotted for Missions

Mission
Colombia Wildlife
Mission
2013 Best Wildlife Photo
Mission
National Geographic's Great Nature Project

Tags

Photographed
PublishedJune 28, 2013

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