Choresine Beetle
Choresine sp.
Watercolor, Color Pencil
April 2006
The Choresine Beetle is apparently what gives Hooded Pitohuis, a songbird from New Guinea, their poison. The batrachotoxins these beetles contain is a likely canidate for the poison in the Hooded Pituhuis feathers, as Dr. Jack Dumbacher found out. They are the same toxins found in poision dart frogs. This illustration was used for the Dazzling and Dangerous Exhibit at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach.
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