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Spotted Tortoise Beetle
Aspidimorpha miliaris
15.4589, 119.914
Field Notes
Description:
Aspidimorpha miliaris (Fabricius, 1775). It looks like the abdomen is bright yellow and the elytra are quite transparent. Although I have witnessed one or two flying away, when I approach, I have no clear understanding of the wings. Is it that I cannot see the wings because they are also transparent or is it because they are yellow. Can anyone advise me. As yet I have not come across any scientific detail on the internet which would help. Anyway, what can be easily observed is that the elytra are marked with irregularly shaped black spots. These spots vary in size and are often almost symmetrical in number and position. In two of the pictures above, the spots seem to have merged into a solid mass which reminds me of a Rorschach ink blot.
Habitat:
These Spotted Tortoise Beetles were on roadside foliage on a steep upward slope, not far from a small stream which trickles down, in the dry season, into a mangrove. In the rainy season, it becomes a torrent. I don't know if proximity to a fresh water source has any significance in the environment of these beetles, other than to mention that around the edges of rice land here, there is often considerable wild growth of Kang Kong (Ipomoea aquatica) in the wet season and the larvae of these beetles can often be spotted there. Wikipedia confirms: "This species reaches about 15 millimetres (0.59 in) in length. Larvae have a gregarious habit and feed on Ipomoea species, with potentially dangerous impact on crops."
Notes:
I know that Project Noah do not allow pictures which have been heavily edited, but I have taken the liberty of including a very poor quality picture which I snapped in a hurry with an old cell phone back in 2015. This beetle landed on a paper napkin on my table when I was having lunch outdoors. I had never seen one before and was afraid that it might fly away before I could get my phone out of my pocket. So I quickly covered it with a clear plastic bag and took one picture through the bag. I then removed the bag and, of course, it flew away. The picture was unusable, so I did what I could, in Photoshop, to remove the plastic bag. But I did not, as far as I know, alter the image of the beetle, The only purpose in posting this picture here is to show an example (the only one I have in my collection) of a clearly asymmetrical pattern of black spots. If the picture is allowed, please forgive the poor quality and if it is not allowed by Project Noah, I agree fully with their judgement and would only state that my intentions were for the good rather than to mislead anyone regarding the specimen.
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