One afternoon, while I was photographing flowers, I discovered this little multicolored Asian ladybeetle (Harmonia axyridis), crawling among the surrounding plants. It was quite obvious that she had a damaged wing, and I was concerned about her ability to fly, but she proved very quickly that the wing itself was completely undamaged. Ladybeetles and many other beetles have elytra, which are a hard shield that covers the delicate wings when they are folded. Obviously, its job is to protect the wings since a flightless beetle is a dead beetle. I’m not sure how this ladybeetle got injured, but what ever happened, she is still thriving and will hopefully survive long enough to reproduce, thanks to her elytra.