Subject: beautiful tiny jewel bug
Location: north texas
August 22, 2015 12:13 pm
This little guy landed in our car today and let me take a few photos before flying away. I have never seen his kind before. Would love to put a name to his fabulousness
Signature: randi odom
Dear Randi,
We believe we have correctly identified your Tortoise Beetle as a Mottled Tortoise Beetle, Deloyala guttata, based on images posted to BugGuide where it is described as: “broadly oval; margins of pronotum and elytra clear or golden, elytra usually mottled black and yellow but can vary from completely orangish-yellow to completely black.” Like other Tortoise Beetles, both adults and larvae feed on the leaves of morning glories and other plants in the family Convolvulaceae.