While walking across his Costa Rica property one day, meteorite collector Michael Farmer noticed a shiny object in the grass. When he leaned to have a closer look, something strange happened. The object was actually moving.
It turned out that the object Farmer spotted wasn’t a piece of metal or some kind of object. It was, in fact, a beetle and a quite rare one. He just stumbled upon Chrysina limbata beetle, which is known for its distinctive shiny silver appearance that makes it look like it’s made out of metal.
Farmer used this unique opportunity to get familiar with the beetle a bit closer and even snapped some photos he later shared on his social media. The photos are quite remarkable and capture the uniqueness of this rare insect.
“[It] was like a mirror. Utterly flawless reflection in the beetle,” he told The Dodo. “Truly one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.”
After the photo session, Farmer decided to let the beetle continue its journey and set it free on a nearby tree. However, it turns out not everyone is so kind.
Chrysina limbata has become quite a rare sight in recent years due to collectors, who are ready to pay a substantial amount of money for these shiny bugs. The loss of habitat also poses a threat to the beetle, which commonly inhabits the tropical forests of Costa Rica, Central America, and Southeast Mexico.
