Black and blue flat armor
cucujus mniszechi
Black-blue flattened carapace, belonging to arthropods, insects, coleoptera, flattenedaceae, flattened nail genus. It often inhabits forests with dense vegetation at an altitude of about 1500 to 3000 m. It is mainly distributed in Yunnan and southeastern Tibet, and the photo is taken on the Nu River.
The first time you see the black and blue flat armor, you will be amazed by its body color. The head, chest, antennae, and three pairs of walking feet are all pitch black, giving a very heavy feeling. The elytra part of the abdomen is a variety of colors, glowing a metallic shimmering blue. The blue and black glowed together, making this ordinary insect temperament immediately cold. After all, as the only insect known to possess a flashy blue in the flat armor, it has a proud capital.
Putting aside the body color, only in terms of appearance, the black and blue flat armor is very similar to the Tianniu, especially its prominent two "big teeth" (chewing mouthparts), large compound eyes, long antennae and slender abdomen, giving people the illusion of "Tianniu Benniu".
However, the black and blue flat armor is still a different species from the celestial bull. The head of the black-blue flat carapace is slightly narrower than the dorsal plate of the anterior thorax, there are nodular bumps extending backwards behind the compound eye, the dorsal plate of the anterior chest is relatively wide and long, the edge of the dorsal plate is regularly distributed with fine small teeth, and there are inverted "u" shaped bumps in the middle of the leading edge.
The species in the flat nail family are very small, so although the black and blue flat carapace is only 20 to 25 mm long, it is a real "large" flat armor in the flat nail, which is considered to be a "dwarf inside the general".
The interesting thing about the evolution of species is that the morphology of any species is to adapt to a specific living environment. The "mini" black and blue flat armor is a full-fledged hunter. Deep in the forest, under the piles of fallen leaves on the surface, it brutally hunts smaller jumping insects, clams, and other wood-borer insects.
Ji Yun life photo Courtesy of the picture
Ji Yun, photographer, naturalist, and popular science writer, author of "Beijing Nature Observation Manual: Insect Volume", "Nujiang Gaoligong Mountain Nature Observation Manual" and other books; Initiator of the "National Astronomical Phenomenon Collection" project of the China Astronomical Image Library, hundreds of newly recorded species or new species in China and dozens of newly recorded astronomical phenomena in China were discovered; Scientific consultant of CCTV documentary group, insect identification expert and celestial identification expert.