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Although cryptically disguised as a dead leaf when at rest, the Peacock Katydid (Pterochroza ocellata) packs a big surprise for its secondary defense. When disturbed, it raises its wings to expose strikingly colored eyespots, which can be enough to startle a potential predator away. This large katydid exhibits a great deal of intraspecific variation such that the wing patterns and camouflage of no two individuals are ever the same, and entomologists at one time had described over a dozen species that are now attributed to P. ocellata. These variations in coloration help to prevent any predator from learning a search pattern to recognize this species and its defense. Yasuní National Park, Ecuador.

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© Chien C. Lee
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Contained in galleries
Central & South America, Insects, Camouflage
Although cryptically disguised as a dead leaf when at rest, the Peacock Katydid (Pterochroza ocellata) packs a big surprise for its secondary defense. When disturbed, it raises its wings to expose strikingly colored eyespots, which can be enough to startle a potential predator away. This large katydid exhibits a great deal of intraspecific variation such that the wing patterns and camouflage of no two individuals are ever the same, and entomologists at one time had described over a dozen species that are now attributed to P. ocellata. These variations in coloration help to prevent any predator from learning a search pattern to recognize this species and its defense. Yasuní National Park, Ecuador.