Hello, frens!
It's the new week and it's been raining most of the day. As it turned out, the first typhoon of the year which landed in the country a day or two ago has reached Luzon, the eastern part now in signal numbers 1 and 2. I read some places have been flooded and hopefully, the storm leaves sooner and won't wreak further havoc on anything on its way out.
With the current weather, nothing much happened, except for a few trades, binge-watching Breaking Bad (a crime drama TV series), napping in between, and of course, Hiving!
Anyhow, I found some photographs of an interesting insect in my archives and realized they have not been posted yet so let me do that today.
This was spotted in the yard in August last year and Google Lens identified it as Polka-dotted Weevil Beetle or Salagubang in Tagalog, scientifically known as Pachyrrhynchus Congestus. Please correct me if this is wrong. The blue *dots on its back and head are mostly rounded (some a bit elongated).
Do you see its toe pads and the claws at the tips of its legs? I'm not so sure if they are called such though.
Through quick research, I learned that this insect is harmless to humans, pets, houses, furniture, or clothing and doesn't carry any diseases. That is good, yes? They however damage food and plants.¹
Meanwhile, the two photos below were captured at my in-law's place. The beetle was crawling down the trunk of the citrus tree. I believe they are of the same species as the above one.
I am not very sure if the dots on the back of this may have faded or if it's just naturally like that.
Accordingly, this type of beetle is common in Southeast Asian islands so it makes sense that we have them here. We did notice smaller sizes of similar species on the citrus trees. They usually hide under the leaves, especially during the hot days.
Unfortunately, I could not find any further information about this species so I could not share more about them. But yes, they are fascinating, especially with the colored dots on their backs. Have you seen them too in real life?
Thank you and here's to wishing you a terrific day (night) wherever you are.
All photos are my own. 27052024/21:00ph