Independent researcher Mritunjay Sharma has discovered two rare insects, one at the picturesque Canary Hill in Hazaribagh district and other at Ramgarh Ghati on Ranchi-Patna Highway.
The first is a rare golden tortoise beetle seen at Canary hill and the second one is painted grasshopper who only eats poisonous plants.
Sharma said Canary is full of surprises and apart from his recent discovery, he had found the Peacock Pancy, one of the world’s most beautiful butterfly, and India’s largest anthill.
“The golden tortoise beetle belongs to the leaf beetle family. In this area, so far only its two colours have been spotted-green and orange. In insects, the orange colour is very rare and hardly seen,” Sharma said talking to The Telegraph Online, adding that there are over 3,50,000 species of beetles in the world. About the painted grasshopper Sharma said, “It is very rare and he had spotted it for the first time in his long years of research. Scientists wanted to know as to how this grasshopper which only eats poisonous plants digest it and stay safe. Research is on to crack this mystery and if decoded, it will help scientists save the life of those who consume poison.”
