Snake Caterpillar?
While transferring photographs from my recent Panama trip onto my computer, another quick pick jumped out at me. This large caterpillar was found by Dave Huth on our first night in Cocobolo Nature Reserve and the longer I watched it, the more its resemblance to a snake blew me away. The indication of scales in just the right places, spots suggesting nostrils, even the white ‘catchlight’ in its fake eyes…and it moves in just the right ways too! I know my Central American snakes pretty well, but even a cursory glance at this caterpillar tripped all sorts of alarm bells in my...
Read MoreLettered Sphinx
This is a Lettered Sphinx (Deidamia inscriptum) moth, resting out of the way on a warm and sunny spring day. It probably looks like a dead or decaying leaf to predators with jagged edges and all of that brown.
Read MoreJagged Ambush Bug
The Jagged Ambush Bug (Phymata sp.) hides out on flowers, waiting for the opportune time to strike out and catch prey. These interesting looking insects can even mimic sounds to attract insect species to get a little too close them. Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project in Connecticut for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History.
Read MoreRed Postman (Heliconius erato) Butterfly
The Red Postman (Heliconius erato) is a heliconians butterfly species that shows wide diversity in color over its range across the tropics. It is mimicked by Heliconius melpomene, the two can be distinguished by the number of red dots on the forewing, as H.erato has four while H.melpomene has three. Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project in Costa Rica while on assignment for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History with The Marvelwood School.
Read MoreKatydid in Costa Rica
Here’s a lovely Katydid that RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser photographed in Costa Rica yesterday, perfectly posed with its evolutionary inspiration, for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project.
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