Blue iridescent longhorn beetle, Esmeralda coerulea, (1)

photo: Paul

Blue iridescent longhorn beetle, Esmeralda coerulea, (3)

photo: Paul

Blue iridescent longhorn beetle, Esmeralda coerulea, (2)

photo: Paul

Habitat: Guianas, North Brazil
Status: Not Listed

This absolutely STUNNING Blue Longhorn Beetle (Esmeralda coerulea) was spotted by Flickr photographer pbertner while on a night hike at the kurupukari river crossing in Guyana. I’m really glad he was keeping his eyes peeled – though, I doubt it was that hard to spot such an unbelievably brilliant creature.

The bright blue probably acts as a warning to predators to keep away, as this is not a tasty beetle. However, it could also just be fooling them into thinking that. The only way to truly find out would be to taste one myself and I can promise you that will not be happening anytime soon. Guess it will forever be a mystery!