Meet The Golden Tortoise Beetle – Treasure With Legs (Video + 5 Pics)

Golden tortoise beetles also change color depending on the availability of their liquid layer. During drier months the beetles become less lustrous and are more orange and bronze with flashes of iridescence. The adult beetles are distinctive in that the margins of the prothorax and elytra are expanded, largely concealing the head and appendages. The expanded margins are not pigmented, appearing nearly transparent. The beetles are fairly small, measuring 5.0 to 7.0 mm in length. The beetles vary slightly in color but invariably are orange colored, often golden metallic, and are sometimes called goldbugs.