Perhaps the most extraordinary life form I encountered that summer was the golden tortoise beetle -- Charidotella bicolor -- crawling around the thicket with the mile-a-minute weed. It was the shiniest gold beetle I have ever seen. As if that weren't enough, it apparently has the ability to shift its appearance from brilliant gold scarab to ordinary ladybug. Curiously, I could have sworn I took photos of the golden insect I chanced upon, and now find only these with the ladybug.
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