The Golden Tortoise Beetle

The larvae of the Golden Tortoise Beetle have some interesting characteristics of their own. For starters, they look like little dinosaurs; they are flat and reddish or brownish in color with spiky protuberances all over them. Because they are slow and cannot fly, they have developed an effective (and disgusting by human standards) defense mechanism. They make what is called an anal shield by melding together old skin and fecal matter and attaching it to their anal fork (they have an extra-long anal tube for this). They then keep this shield on top of their bodies to protect themselves and every now and then they wave it around. Apparently, predators find this all this as gross as we do and stay away. Watch a larva make and flip its anal shield here.