Cute Beetle
Credit: © Trond Larsen

This leaf beetle (Stilodes sedecimmaculata) is found only in the Guyana Shield &mdash a geological formation that underlies Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, as well as parts of Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil. More than 35,000 leaf beetle species exist in the world, many feeding only on a particular type of host plant. The beetles store toxic chemicals from the plants they eat, and advertise this toxicity with bright colors to warn off predators. This species, though not new to science, was seen in southwest Suriname during a 2010 Conservation International survey. was observed during Conservation International's Rapid Assessment Program in southwest Suriname in August and September 2010.