Chien C. Lee

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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.

Copyright
© Chien C. Lee
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7520x5013 / 29.0MB
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Keywords
Ecuador, Ensifera, Insecta, Orthoptera, Pterochrozinae, South America, Tettigoniidae, Tettigoniidea, Tettigonioidea, amazon, amazon basin, animal, arthropod, bush cricket, camouflage, crypsis, cryptic, defense, fauna, insect, invertebrate, katydid, leaf katydid, tropical
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.