If you thought the flying golden snitch was an imaginary creature invented by JK Rowling for Harry Potter, well, you'd be right. But take a close look at this video and you'll see that the ultimate Quidditch prize might have its counterpart in reality:
That golden insect is called a Golden Tortoise Beetle, for obvious reasons. Except that this beetle isn't always golden - it can actually change colours. It can also alter its reflectivity, so that their outer layers can become clear, which is kind of amazing. Nature, eh?
The photos here were captured by Tibet-based photographer Chime Tsetan on a visit to an irrigation channel in Mundgod, India.
Chime first took up photography as a hobby while studying at university after his family moved to India in 1960 when Tibet was invaded by China.
"As kids back in the school days, we used to call it 'Ser Bu' which means golden insect," he said. "We used to catch the insects and put them in our geometry boxes with the leaves on.
"These beetles come in various colours, golden like this one and also in silver, yellow and spotted. A big golden beetle like this used to fetch us two to three pencils or a pen in exchange with other kids who used to be amused with this shiny creature.
"So when I found this beetle last year, it brought me all my childhood memories."
We obviously don't get anything quite so magnificent over here, but Chime says that golden tortoise beetles are actually quite common and can be found on morning glory leaves. What's more, they're pretty friendly.
"It doesn't sting or bite," said Chime. "It just tries to get to an elevated place to fly, in this case, my finger tip.
"But it did poo on my finger just before it flew away. Nowadays we don't find much of them around anymore."
As gorgeous as the golden tortoise beetle is, it's not the only striking creature we've come across recently. Just the other day, we reported on this glowing blue tarantula, which actually makes tarantulas look really cool and not at all creepy or terrifying. It also originates from India. Looks like we're taking a trip there, then.
Featured Image Credit: ViralHog