Ever seen a tortoise the size of a fly? How about a golden one that can actually fly? Well, today’s your lucky day, as you get to discover one of nature’s shiny treasures – the golden tortoise beetle.

Before you open a fresh tab to search if these adorable critters are real or just the result of digital editing, make sure you use the species scientific name, aspidimorpha sanctaecrucis, as “golden tortoise beetle” is a really common name shared by a number of beetles, like charidotella sexpunctata, among others. What makes this species of beetle special is that the gold pattern on their transparent protective carapace actually makes them look like tiny tortoises.

Photo: Kepik Emas/Flickr

I might have never known that such a stunning insect existed, if not for one Susanta Nanda, of the Indian Forest Services, who recently tweeted a short clip featuring a bunch of golden tortoise beetles crawling on a person’s hand. It racked up tens of thousands of views on Twitter alone, which leads me to believe that I wasn’t the only one who didn’t know about these cute buggers.

Golden tortoise beetles can be found in the Southeastern Asian countries like China, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, North East India, Vietnam and Indonesia. It can reach a length of about 14 mm.

These adorable critters owe their names not only to the golden pattern on their back, but also from the transparent carapace that covers their bodies and acts as a defense against predators. It protects their wings, but the beetle can also retract underneath it in case of danger, just like a tortoise.

If you find yourself in the right spot, at the right time, golden tortoise beetles are hard to miss, because they really do shine like tiny gold jewels in the sun. They aren’t the most conspicuous of insects, though, as they like to hide on the back of plant leaves, to avoid predators.

Like their namesake “cousins”, charidotella sexpunctata, golden tortoise beetles appear to change color in certain conditions, such as when they feel threatened. According to one observer, they can go from a brilliant golden color, to a reddish gold in a matter of minutes, when disturbed.