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Flower Chafer

Heterorrhina elegans

Photo by SukanyaDatta
Published on Project Noah
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14.216, 76.3989

Field Notes

Description:

Brilliant, shiny green.

Habitat:

Chitradurga Fort. There were two of these. Someone had stamped one into the soil and it was long dead...this one I am not sure...I thought it moved but that could be the wind...who would want to hurt such a pretty thing...a living thing...though some claim it is a pest of rose and mango.

Notes:

Best part. Wikipedia says. "The physics of the colouration of the cuticle is a subject of interest as the colours are entirely structural, not produced by pigments, and nearly 200-year-old specimens show no degradation of the colours..."

Reference Links:

Heterorrhina elegans - Wikipedia, Green Scarab Beetle from India is structurally coloured according to Wikipedia …

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (2)
SukanyaDatta
Thanks, Lauren. Interesting isn't it...we almost never think structure when we talk colour. Mother Nature has so many tricks up her sleeve.
LaurenZarate
Beautiful little jewel and very neat about the structural color lasting forever!

Spotted for Missions

Mission
WILD Cities: Urban Biodiversity
Mission
Beetles!
Photographed
PublishedAugust 30, 2018

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