Grasshopper resting on a leaf with a bright blue head, bright green wings and anterior abdomen (with a bright blue abdominal tip) and long thin legs - splayed out to the sides - with orange femurs
Who’s got crazy legs?! Monkey #grasshoppers (#Eumastacidae) have crazy legs! They were common throughout NE Ecuador and came in a rainbow of bright colors. #WildSumacoLodge
A light green, dark green, and white katydid with patterned wings and long antennae standing on wooden beam. This species' markings make it almost invisible against the lichen that typically covers tree trunks in its Ecuadorian forest habitat.
A light green, dark green, and white katydid with patterned wings and long antennae resting conspicuously on mossy tree trunk. This species' markings make it almost invisible against the lichen that typically covers tree trunks in its Ecuadorian forest habitat.
“I’m #lichen this #mimic!” This #Markia sp. #Katydid is a classic example of #insect #mimicry; it is #camouflaged as the lichen that’s abundant in its forest habitat. Finding one away from a lichen background @ a light trap was the only way I spotted this beauty. #Tettigoniidae #WildSumacoLodge
Pair of large, ca. 30cm mating walking stick insects on the trunk of a tropical tree with lichen and moss.
Large-bodied female from a pair of large, ca. 30cm mating walking stick insects from Ecuador on the trunk of a tropical tree with lichen and moss.
Skinny male from a pair of large, ca. 30cm mating walking stick insects from Ecuador on the trunk of a tropical tree with lichen and moss.
Stick-like jumping stick insect or stick grasshopper (family Proscopiidae) on leaf in the Ecuadorian forest. The insect has a bulbous head with huge eyes and conspicuously swollen anterior portions of its femurs.
“Sticks that are not sticks…some jump!” #Stick #insects #Phasmatidae include some of the largest insect species. This stock still mating pair from #WildSumacoLodge spanned ≥30cm. Nearby, an #Apiocelis jumping stick, #Proscopiidae played “stick” but soon jumped meter’s away & out-of-sight. #Ecuador
A light-green lichen-mimicking katydid resting on a tree branch. This insect has short spines on its legs and a net-like color pattern on the body and wings that resembles lichen. Species name is perhaps Markia histerix. Photographed at night near an insect light trap at Wild Sumaco Lodge in Ecuador.
Bucket list alert!
This is a #Markia sp., a #lichen-mimicking #katydid. These are often presented to illustrate #crypsis. I've always wanted to see one in real life. It came to a light trap at #WildSumacoLodge in #Ecuador, after I calmed down, it tolerated my attention for many minutes. Awesome!
Light-green colored lichen-mimicking cryptic katydid on a broad rainforest leaf on the grounds of Wild Sumaco Lodge in Ecuador. Species may be #Lichenomorphus montealegrezi. Four consecutive photographs taken in 30 sec at ca. 11:30 pm on 24 October 2024.
#Lichenomorphus montealegreziLight-green colored lichen-mimicking cryptic katydid on a broad rainforest leaf on the grounds of Wild Sumaco Lodge in Ecuador. Species may be #Lichenomorphus montealegrezi. Four consecutive photographs taken in 30 sec at ca. 11:30 pm on 24 October 2024.
Light-green colored lichen-mimicking cryptic katydid on a broad rainforest leaf on the grounds of Wild Sumaco Lodge in Ecuador. Species may be #Lichenomorphus montealegrezi. Four consecutive photographs taken in 30 sec at ca. 11:30 pm on 24 October 2024.
Light-green colored lichen-mimicking cryptic katydid on a broad rainforest leaf on the grounds of Wild Sumaco Lodge in Ecuador. Species may be #Lichenomorphus montealegrezi. Four consecutive photographs taken in 30 sec at ca. 11:30 pm on 24 October 2024.
“I’m definitely ‘lichen’ Ecuadorian #katydids!” The insects at #WildSumacoLodge in #Ecuador were spectacular. Among them, this #cryptic flat #lichen #mimic, #Lichenomorphus montealegrezi, stopped me in my tracks…after I walked past it several times. “Hey, lichen doesn’t move!” Amazing #crypsis.
