EXPLORING NATURE & WILDLIFE OF SOUTHEAST ASIA

Dalat - A capital of Lam Dong, located on the Central Highlands of Vietnam, on Langbiang Plateau. Finally we arrived into this beautiful place in the late evening due to the heavy traffic along the way. Luckily our Guide got us some snacks along the way to let us hold our hunger. The Dalat air was cool and nice with temperature at 16 degrees. We felt great!! We went for dinner at a local restaurant near our hotel, and after that we rested for the night. Hotel was better than the one before! We are Day 3 into our trip, and we woke up pretty early feeling very excited. We replenished our energy with a spread of local breakfast prepared by the hotel, and looked forward for a full day birding at Dalat Plateau. The sad thing was that it was raining today! It did dampen our spirits for abit but it could not stop us from venturing out. We set off straight after breakfast. As we proceeded up into the mountains, the rain got heavier. For hardcore birders like us, whether rain or shine, we still

Tortoise Beetles, belonging to the family of Leaf Beetles, are one of the most beautiful beetles ever seen. Their colours changes as they transform from larvae to an adult form. They are very shy creatures and are very sensitive to movements. It is not easy to see them as they are usually seen in places with very dense vegetation.  1. Aspidomorpha miliaris (Spotted Tortoise Beetle) 2. Aspidomorpha furcata (Golden Tortoise Beetle) 3.  Aspidomorpha desuta  (Tortoise Beetle) 4. Cassida circumdata (Green Tortoise Beetle) 5. Chiridopsis scalaris (Golden Beetle) 6. Laccoptera nepalensis (Brown Tortoise Beetle) 7. Notosacantha rufa (Tortoise Beetle)   8. Silana farinosa (White Tortoise Beetle OR Curry-Leaf Tortoise Beetle)   BEETLE LARVAE