I love finding tortoise beetles! They are beautiful and intriguingly shaped little creatures. This particular one feeds on Canada thistle, a plant which despite its name is non-native and often invasive, and helps to control it. I flipped the beetle on to its back so I could photograph what it looked like under its shiny green carapace (see NEXT photo). You can see the antennae folded down alongside the head on the top or right side of the insect.

The next 7 photos show other shots of other green tortoise beetles, including how well they are camouflaged when feeding on thistle.