Genus Phyllium (leaf lice) attracts insect lovers with its exotic appearance, formed by the need to disguise itself as the leaves of trees.
It cannot be said content what kind stick insect from this niche is more interesting, therefore, in the terrariums of patient owners, you can find both Phyllium bioculatum and Phyllium siccifo, and Phyllium philippinicum and Phyllium giganteum.
Mostly these insects are bright green in color, although orange and yellow are also possible. An additional illusion of a leaf is created by the brown edging of the body and dark spots, as well as all kinds of notches and imitation of the "skeleton" of the leaves.
Females of these stick insects are larger than males, capable of parthenogenesis (for example, Phyllium giganteum) and have a flatter and wider body, the length of which can reach 12.5 cm. Males have wings (as an exception, females of Phyllium bioculatum have them, but never are not used).
Most often the ghosts represented here are found in Malaysia, but they also live in Melanesia, Australia, preferring a tropical climate. Most of the time they are on plants suitable for them for feeding (under parts of which they are masked).
It takes 5 months for males of leaflets to reach sexual maturity, 6 months for males (one more molt). Life expectancy is a maximum of several months, but if you maintain a continuous breeding cycle, you can keep the leaflets as long as you want.
To understand whether a Phyllium female is fertilized or not, you need to look at the area of her genitals - with a successful combination of circumstances, there will be a small sac. The eggs resemble seeds in appearance (store in wet sand with a temperature of 23-28 degrees); wait for hatching of leafy babies in five months.
These animals thrive in a spacious insectarium filled with fresh raspberry, blackberry or oak leaves. Sprouts are considered more delicious, but avoid leaves that have just hatched, they can be poisonous to phylliums.
They eat more actively if they are slightly blown. Stick insects perceive such a breeze as a safety signal confirming that they have climbed to the top of a tree, where they can safely begin their meal.
If it is easy enough to feed them in the summer, then in winter, if you are not prepared, there is a risk of losing your pets... When caring for exotic stick insects, true connoisseurs stock up on food that is familiar to them (which should not be changed, especially during the breeding season).
For example, if your leaflet feeds on oak leaves, you can prepare about ten young shoots of oak (for example, red or pedunculate) in pots, which will be placed in turn in the insectarium.
As it is eaten, the oak is removed from the tank and placed in a greenhouse or just a sunny place in the house for restoration. Instead, another oak is obtained for Phyllium. You can also pick up acorns in reserve and germinate them as needed.
The same thing (replacing one tree with another) can be done with guava, mango, or avocado. Raspberries and blackberries in tubs behave quite capriciously, although they are considered tenacious plants.
Their leaves can be harvested in the freezer, however, not all types of stick insects are sympathetic to dead leaves, especially juveniles. But on the windows, strawberries and strawberries grow beautifully. If your phyllium feeds on their leaves, then seedlings are an excellent option for the winter.
Video of Phyllium giganteum on a walk:
General article about the content of stick insects.
Photographed in their natural habitat, among trees and leaves, these small insects demonstrate that they are not easy prey for predators.
Paul Bertner, a 31-year-old forester and photographer from Canada, decided to find and photograph the insects and their homes.
He considers this process to be a kind of game of hide and seek.
Its purpose was to show how great biodiversity is in nature.
Insects and the world around them
The Canadian forester admits that it is incredibly difficult to find a beetle in its natural environment, and you need to have special skills to do this, without frightening the insect away.
Using macro photography, he managed to get close enough to some of the insects to capture them against the backdrop of trees and foliage.
Paul Bertner has been in professional photography for about 5 years. For his work, he used two Canon 5D mark III cameras and a Canon MPE-65mm lens for close-up shots.
Where are the insects?
This photo shows a cicada on a leaf. It looks transparent, but this is only an optical illusion.
Shown here is the praying mantis Gyromantis kraussii, whose browns, grays and blacks blend almost perfectly with the color of the tree on which it rests.
It is almost impossible to find the light brown Lesser Brukesia, a species of chameleon lizard, in this image.
Find the insect in the photo
On the left is another representative of praying mantises - deroplatys desiccata, hanging on a tree branch, and on the right, a real grasshopper resting on a tree.
The liturgusidae praying mantis uses its brownish-red coloration to go unnoticed on the tree.
Green insect
An insect from the flatidae family blends well with the green background, remaining almost invisible.
Despite the fact that in the upper right corner you can see a dragonfly, in this image there is another insect from the order of ghosts (they are also stick insects or leaflets).
Here you can see a beetle from the curculionoid family. The surface of its back mimics the ground covered with grass, which allows the beetle to hide well.
Insect coloring under a dry leaf
Climbing branches, this Henkel flat-tailed gecko looks a lot like a withered leaf and is incredibly difficult to see in nature.
On the left, a real grasshopper is hiding on a leaf, and on the right is Darwin's spider, which has adapted to the brown background and managed to hide.
On the left is a picture of the insect kallima inachus, and on the right is the praying mantis deroplatys desiccata. As a rule, both insects hide on dry leaves, where they are practically invisible.
Stick insect photo: Chun Xing Wong
Here is the first representative««: A careful examination of the plant sometimes leads to an unexpected result: the revived “twigs” leave the place they occupied earlier and hide in dense foliage.
photo: geart1
This species of praying mantis ( very similar to dry leaves. This type of camouflage not only helps to hide itself from predators, but also to be unnoticed while hunting.
photo: mnn.com
Butterfly - dry leaf ( as well as a praying mantis is very similar to a dry leaf, which saves it 100% from.
The camouflage of this grasshopper is so accurate that it even mimics leaf spots.
photo: David W. Leindecker
Some of the strangest inhabitants on the planet. When one of these amazing creatures rests on a branch or at the end of a tree branch, they are nearly impossible to spot.
Orchid mantis (lat. Hymenopus coronatus) ... These predators look bright and very beautiful, but in reality they are ruthless killers. They use a look that mimics a petal in order to be invisible to their prey.
photo: Nandini Velho
These insects are referred to as stick insects, as their name suggests, they evolved to mimic leaves rather than sticks.
photo: Henrik Larsson
Moths, or surveyors (Geometridae). During the Industrial Revolution in Britain, there was only one color variety of the birch moth. White butterflies with small dark specks on their wings perfectly imitated the color of the lichen-covered birch bark, on which they rested during the day, and thus were hardly noticeable.
Acanthaspis PETAX photo: eddy lee
Acanthaspis PETAX is a type of bug that preys on ants. It is unique in that this species uses carcasses of ants to hide itself from predators.
Leaves play a vital role in plant survival. They absorb sunlight and convert it to organic matter. Some plants, such as evergreen conifers and deciduous plants, retain their leaves throughout the year; others, like the oak, shed their leaves every fall. Given the prevalence and importance of leaves in, it's not surprising that many animals camouflage themselves as leaves to protect themselves from predators.
Below are seven types of animals that look like plant leaves. The next time you want to pick up a leaf, make sure it is it, and not one of these impostor leaves.
Ghost mantis
Ghostly Mantis ( Phyllocrania paradoxa) - predatory insect that disguises itself as rotting leaves. From brown to jagged edges on its body and limbs, the ghostly mantis fits perfectly into its habitat. It feeds on a variety of insects, including fruit flies, mealworms, and baby crickets. When they feel threatened, they often freeze motionless on the ground and do not move even when touched. The ghostly mantis inhabits dry, open areas, trees and shrubs throughout Africa and southern Europe.
Leaf butterfly
Indian leaf butterfly ( Kallima paralekta), despite its name, is native to Indonesia. These butterflies, when they fold their wings, become very similar to the dead leaves of trees. They are found in tropical forest areas and come in a variety of colors, including gray, brown, red, olive, green, and pale yellow. The shading on the wings mimics characteristics leaves such as veins and petioles.
The wings cover spots that resemble mold or other fungi that attack dead plant leaves. Instead of consuming flower nectar, the Indian leaf butterfly prefers to feed on rotten fruits.
Gabon viper
Gabonese viper ( Bitis gabonica) is a snake that lives in the tropical forests of Africa. This predator is at the top the food chain in their native habitat. With huge fangs and a body from 1.2 to 1.5 m long, the Gabonese viper prefers nocturnal hunting and moves slowly enough so as not to frighten off its prey. When a threat is detected, the snake hides among dry leaves on the ground.
The color of the Gabonese viper makes it difficult to identify this snake as potential predators and prey in its natural habitat. This species usually feeds on birds and small mammals.
Fantastic leaf-tailed gecko
Fantastic leaf-tailed gecko ( Uroplatus phantasticus) - small lizards native to the island of Madagascar, living on the branches of trees in the rainforest. The leaf-tailed gecko's diet consists of crickets, flies, spiders, cockroaches, and snails. This type of reptile is known for its striking resemblance to a dried leaf, which helps them camouflage themselves from predators during daylight hours and hide with their prey at night. The fantastic leaf-tailed gecko takes an aggressive stance when it senses a threat: the lizard opens its mouth wide and makes loud noises.
Amazonian slingshot
Amazon Slingshot ( Ceratophrys cornuta) is a frog from the tropical forests of South America. The body color and warty ridges give the frogs a resemblance to leaves lying on the ground. Amazonian slingshots hide in leaves and then attack their prey (such as small reptiles, mice, and other frogs). This is a rather aggressive species of frogs, eating almost anything that moves past their large mouths.
Philippine leaf
Filipino leaflet ( Phyllium philippinicum) is an insect with a wide and flat body, similar to a leaf. Found in the rainforests of South Asia, on the islands Indian Ocean and Australia. The Filipino leaflet has sizes from 28 to 100 mm. Sexual dimorphism is pronounced; males are smaller than females. The leafy parts of the insect's body mimic leaves in color and structure. They can also disguise themselves as damaged leaves: holes sometimes appear on some parts of the body.
The movement of the insect imitates the swaying of the leaf from side to side, as if the wind was blowing on it. Due to its appearance, the Filipino leaflet is relatively protected from potential predators. These insects reproduce sexually, but females sometimes have a form of reproduction called parthenogenesis.
Grasshoppers
Some species of grasshoppers from the family ( Tettigoniidae), in order to avoid meeting with predators, imitate the leaves of plants in the smallest detail. These insects have flat bodies and disguises that resemble leaf veins and decay spots.
When alarmed, they freeze motionless in the hope of avoiding detection. If they feel threatened, they fly away.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Deceiving appearance
The patronizing coloration of insects seems to be a simple and primitive means of defense against enemies. But other, more complex methods of deception are also used. The variety of these methods to some extent corresponds to the abundance of forms of the class of insects.
Autumn touched the tree crowns, and they blushed with yellow, orange and red spots. Now each tree differs from each other, at least slightly, in color, shade of dying foliage. Leaf fall will begin soon, and the autumn outfit of the forest will fall to the ground.
The wind died down. The trees froze, do not move. But what is it? A leaf flew to the ground from the apple tree obliquely, as if from the wind, and, falling, slightly moved. Is it a leaf? Of course, not a leaf, but a butterfly - an autumn moth. She imitates plants all her life: a caterpillar - she looks like a twig, a pupa - in green resembles leaves (she pupates among them), and depicts a real autumn leaf with a butterfly!
Leaf imitation is a favorite technique used by many insects. The bug Pephricus fragilis is so similar to a dry leaf that, looking at it, one cannot even suspect an insect in it. One of the grasshoppers, belonging to the genus Glyricidia, is also very similar to a dried leaf. The similarity is enhanced by spots located on the wings, reminiscent of the defeat of the leaf blade by a fungus. The mantis Acanthops falcata is very similar to a dried leaf due to its very strange elytra and unusual shape body. The similarity to the leaf is enhanced by the posture it takes. One of the tropical ground beetles that lives in Java looks like a tree leaf due to the wide outgrowths on the sides of the abdomen.
But the greatest craftswomen to imitate the leaf are the Kalimma butterflies living in India. It is not by chance that they are called leaf butterflies. Top part the wings of the butterfly are bright and elegant, and the lower one looks like a dry leaf and extraordinarily accurately repeats its pattern. It took to sparkle an outfit in front of the chosen one of the heart - and the wings of a kalimma open, shining bright colors... An enemy has appeared - the wings fold and in place of a bright butterfly - a dry leaf, useless, useless, fallen to the ground. And since dry leaves are of different colors and different shapes, then kalimma butterflies are very variable and vary within the same species. To enhance the resemblance to a leaf, the Kalimma butterfly, resting on a tree trunk, as if from the wind rhythmically sways from side to side from the wind. In some Kalims, the wings with such perfection reproduce not only the structure of a wilted leaf, but the shape and color of the mold developing on the leaves that phytopathologists were even able to establish what type of fungus is depicted on the wings.
The night European butterfly Phlogophora meticulosa, when it rests with folded wings, and the caterpillars of some species of hawk moths look like a twisted rotting leaf.
The light green caterpillar is indistinguishable among the leaves of the trees
The caterpillar of the scoop butterfly nestles on the plant stem and becomes invisible
Grasshoppers from the genus Pterochosa, living in America, in their pattern, color, arrangement of veins, to the smallest detail, resemble withered and discarded leaves. Here, the tones of the leaf color and the spots on them formed by fungi and larvae of mining insects are exactly reproduced. The perfection of the forgery so struck the imagination of one of the naturalists of the last century that he proposed to call this phenomenon by the term "hyperthemia" (over-imitation), when the border of the useful is significantly exceeded.
Stick insects, which we have already talked about as dexterous imitators, are unusually similar to various parts of plants. The representatives of the Phyllidae family have achieved particular perfection. The external resemblance of their elytra and forelegs to leaves is a remarkable natural phenomenon. In some areas where stick insects are found, the local population even has a belief that these insects come from the leaves and buds of trees.
The caterpillar of the moth moth, when in danger, becomes like a dry twig
Well, and the caterpillars of moth moths imitating knots, each of us could observe in nature, they are so frequent and common. The caterpillar, disturbed or frightened by our not too delicate curiosity, immediately deviates from the branch on which it has the habit of sitting and, stretching out a cobweb from it, freezes like a stick in absolute immobility. At this time, she does not move, does not flinch, does not betray herself in any way. Long subtle body, furrowed with light transverse wrinkles, a head that looks like a lump or even a kidney, brown or grayish color - everything so resembles a knot that when you suddenly see her in this position, you would never think that it is an insect. And the caterpillar has more than enough patience. She will represent a mote for at least half an hour, especially if she senses your attention. Try at this moment, crucial for the caterpillar, to hold a stick between it and a tree branch and tear the invisible support-cobweb - and then an embarrassment will occur: the caterpillar will fall and, having ceased to pretend, will try to crawl away as soon as possible, walking with a bracket.
Empusa praying mantis is very similar to a dry thorn
We have already said that many butterflies, and other insects, imitate the shape and pattern of the tree bark, on which they tend to rest. This technique is especially common among moths - hawk moths, scoops, crested beetles, leaf rollers, moths, moths. But there are insects that have gone even further: they imitate lichens growing on tree trunks. The North American filly Trimerotropis saxatilis is similar in color to the lichens that cover the rocks, and when jumping, it tries to get from the lichen to the lichen, as if fearing to be in a background that does not match its dress. Cleverly imitates lichens on trees, the praying mantis that lives in South America... A grasshopper from the Phaneropteridae family, which is unusually similar to lichens, also lives there.
I must say that lichens are convenient as a role model. They are contrasting, lacking the correct outline, have a complex small pattern, and are widespread. Lichens are imitated by praying mantises, stick insects, locusts, butterflies and their caterpillars, weevils, lumberjack beetles and many other insects.
We are so accustomed to the fact that stick insects are the most skillful in imitating objects around them that we almost forgot to say that their main role is, as the name itself says, to be like a stick, a twig. The structure of most insects is subordinated to this role, including a few species of stick insects that live in our country (as a rule, stick insects are residents of tropical countries). Due to their appearance, they are very difficult to notice, especially among shrubs with dry twigs.
Two stick insects are not easy to distinguish among juzgun twigs
Who Loves Mysterious Pictures? - I ask my companions. See this stick insect? How many are there on this bush?
The stick insect was sitting on the dry broken top of the wormwood and, noticing us, began to sway from side to side, imitating a blade of grass swaying in the wind. But it was quiet in the gorge, everything froze. The distant cries of mountain partridges, the murmur of a brook and the buzzing of flies were heard.
We count the stick insects all together. Not an easy occupation. He slightly turned his eyes to the side - and the stick insect was lost among the dry vegetation. There are ten stick insects in total. Laughter and movement awaken slow deceivers. Reluctantly, barely moving their long legs like stilts, they crawl from place to place and shake as if in a fever. Then we freeze, remain silent. Stick insects calm down, freeze and become like sticks. Who was among the twigs, froze with long legs randomly outstretched to the sides, who found himself on a bare stick, stretched his legs along and became as if its continuation. Now the stick insects disappeared from the eyes and everything again became like in a mysterious picture. No one can find them all at once ...
Why are these strange creatures gathered together? This is not a breeding flock, since our stick insects reproduce without fertilization and their males are unknown. It would be nice to have one of us sit next to them. But there are no volunteers. Who has the patience to keep track of such slow-moving people. Ahead is a tempting gorge and the beginning of the campaign is so interesting.
Our stick insects try to enhance the resemblance to thin twigs by swaying from side to side, as if swayed by the wind. Here they often overact, and it is funny to look at a long and awkward insect with thin long stilted legs, swinging vigorously from side to side in complete calm, when not a single branch of the plant moves. Yes, here the stick insect is denied the ability to deceive: he does not know how to determine when there is a calm in nature, and when the wind is playing. However, is there complete perfection?
In their desire to imitate a stick, stick insects are not lonely. In South America, the filly-stick lives.
In our country, there are several species of small rod-shaped bugs, whose body is like a stick. The waterbug from the water scorpion family has also mastered the art of stick insects and, once in the net, freezes in immobility, easily resembling a dirty stick.
Butterfly hole silver from the side looks like a knot
The resemblance to a twig protruding from the stem is well pronounced in some grasshoppers and stick insects. A broken off knot is cleverly imitated by a large woodworm beetle that lives in India. The already mentioned butterfly, the silver hole, looks like a fragment of a twig. There are other butterflies that mimic a bitch and a stick.
In the fall, when the rains begin to fall, the desert revives slightly, in some places the grass turns green, and autumn insects appear. But now it is dry, there is no rain and all living things are hiding somewhere.
Leaving the car, we slowly walk to the top of a gentle mountain with petrified horsemen, turn over stones on the move and see who is hiding under them. With each step of the ascent, new distances appear from the horizon: now the blue expanses of the desert, now the black rocks. The kestrel has flown away, the fossilized horsemen are transformed into ancient shepherd's pillars, built of stones.
There are few insects under the stones. Perhaps there were desert dwellers hiding under that big, flat one? The stone is very low and barely rises above the ground. The wind poured fine earth and debris of dry desert plants onto it. To flip the stone, pull on the sharp, raised edge. But as soon as a hand touches it, a dry gray stick suddenly flies up from a pile of specks into the air, dashes in zigzags and falls to the ground.
We crawl cautiously to the place where she fell, and peer intently. But how to notice a gray stick when there are so many plant debris everywhere, bleached by the sun? And the gray stick flies up into the air again, but not at all from where it fell, but to the side, much closer to us.
Now we see that it is a small butterfly, and notice how it, before landing on the ground, sharply turns back, towards the pursuer, so that then suddenly take off.
Let's take a close look at where she sits. But the pebble, near which the butterfly seems to have sank, has no one. Around - only dry blades of grass, small rubble, and a toiler ant with a heavy load, slowly, crawling through the heap of all rubbish. You have to feel the ground with your hands. And again the inconspicuous gray stick comes to life again and flies into the air from under the very hands!
In a finger-wing butterfly, the body and wings at rest seem to be sticks.
Finally, the butterfly is caught. How wonderful she is! In front of the head, there is some kind of narrow process sticking out, as if the wand had broken off unevenly. Black eyes are not visible, covered with gray stripes of antennae. The legs are hidden under the body and only two stick out to the sides, just like tiny dried and broken off twigs. One gray wing folded over the other. This makes the body appear cylindrical, and there is a hole in the back: the stick seems to have broken off, and an empty core is visible. What a skillful deceiver, this wand butterfly! ..
The art of imitating plant flowers is quite difficult, so only a few tropical praying mantises have mastered it. Very similar to the flower mantis Gongylus gongyloides, which lives in India. The entomologist P.R. both are painted, like the entire upper side of the insect, green; but if you turn it upside down, you get a completely different impression. The leaf-like expansion of the prothorax, instead of being green, turns out to be pale purple, with a slight pink bloom at the edges; this part of the insect bears a precise and surprising resemblance to the corolla of a flower. The similarity becomes even more perfect due to the presence in the center of this corolla, that is, in the middle of the mesothorax, a dark, blackish-brown spot, which depicts the opening of the corolla, the entrance to its tubule.
About the praying mantis living on the Malay Peninsula, similar to a flower, tells in a book on patronizing coloration, H. B. Cott. “Its color is very similar to the flowers of the Melastoma polyantum shrub. The praying mantis is closely related to this shrub and, having found it, climbs onto its flowers. The black spot on his abdomen looks a lot like small fly... A praying mantis hides on a flower. On his body, as well as on the flowers of a plant, many insects sit down. The predator patiently carries away small insects crawling on it until it appears big booty which he immediately captures. This praying mantis is one of the most convincing and remarkable examples of the lure instinct known to this day. "
Mantises that mimic flowers have a double benefit. On the one hand, there is little chance that insectivorous birds will pay attention to them, on the other hand - the flower and prey flies, just have time to catch it!
There are many insects similar to thorns and thorns of plants. One of the bugs living in the deserts of Central Asia is covered with numerous thorns. It is pale gray in color and strongly resembles the thorns so abundant on native plants. It is extremely difficult to see this bug among the plants.
Some insects have chosen a collective way of imitation. The Homoptera proboscis insects of the genus Flata are extremely remarkable in this respect. When they come together, they resemble flowers. V East Africa two variations of these insects are known - green and red. Gathered together, the green ones are at the bottom, and the red ones are at the top, imitating the foxglove inflorescence. In other similar insects of the genus Thinea, green mimics unopened buds, and red - blossoming flowers. This observation has been confirmed more than once by various entomologists.
Stick insects have adapted to deceiving at a very early stage in their development. Their eggs are very similar to plant seeds. For some, this similarity is striking and intensifies. the smallest details, and the structure of the surface of the egg exactly copies the plant tissue. It is very likely that such a technique exists to protect eggs from wasps or insectivorous birds.
By the way, such an appearance of the stick insect egg is not without reason. Sometimes the development of an egg lasts up to two years, and over such a long period, the possibility of dying increases. The shell of the eggs of stick insects, at least of the stick insects inhabiting Central Asia, is very strong. An assumption arises: are these eggs spread by granivorous birds? Is that why eggs take so long to develop? For those slow and incapable of active settlement of stick insects, help in conquering new spaces is very useful.
A good disguise is a fancy dress. The larvae of retina-winged askalafs, as well as some lacewings, put on the skins of their trophies and transform into some kind of awkward shaggy lump that does not look like a living creature at all. The caterpillar of one moth puts on its thorns flower buds the plants on which she is accustomed to sit. The larvae of some scutellus beetles are distinguished by a similar feature.
Shield beetles are strange beetles. Their body is covered from above, as it were, with a shield that covers the head, antennae and legs. They are unusually slow and careful. Painted in greenish-yellow tones with a pearlescent sheen. However, after the death of the beetle, the pearlescent glow dims and gradually disappears. Therefore, in the entomological collections, the cetaceans are not as beautiful as in nature. It is very difficult to notice the shield beetle, and once you find it, you need to be careful, because at the very first signs of danger, the beetle falls to the ground and is lost among the grass and straws.
The caterpillar, light green with long spines, curls up into a ball and becomes indistinguishable among the gray wormwood
In the mountains, along the banks of streams, a rather high tarragon wormwood grows, dark green with strongly cut narrow leaves. It was high summer. Whether from a lack of moisture or from some fungal disease the tips of many wormwood leaves turned yellow and slightly curled. These yellow tips of the wormwood were imitated by the larva of the cetacean, so successfully that it was extremely difficult to notice it. She was, like an adult beetle, green, slightly flat, with a small hooded shield over her head and with a long tail, which in shape and color was unusually similar to the tip of a yellowed wormwood leaf. The larva was even more sluggish than the beetle, and moved so carefully that it seemed motionless all the time. Alarmed, she suddenly jerked her tail up, and then the resemblance to a yellowed leaf intensified even more.
How wonderful this little ponytail turned out to be under the magnifying glass! It consisted of dry molted skins, exactly like a larva in shape. At the top of the tail was the smallest skin of the first molt, followed by a larger one, and so all five pieces. These skins, strung one on top of the other, resembled circus acrobats, standing on each other's shoulders.
I noticed the second shield beetle on saxaul. A whole world of various insects lives and feeds on this tree. There are especially many galls on saxaul, formed by gall midge, aphids, thrips, mites and fungi. Gauls herself of various shapes and colors: in the form of balls, fusiform swellings, cones, stars, others are seated with hard scales, covered with delicate white fluff or green, yellow, red, black. In deserts, perhaps, not a single plant is known on which there would be such a multitude of gall-forming insects as on saxaul.
A small shield-beetle was a frequent inhabitant of saxaul. It is also painted in the color of green saxaul twigs, but its shield is not as large as that of other shield beetles. The saxaul shield beetle fed intensely on the soft green of the twigs, and I had more or less well studied her life. But it was just not possible to establish where the larva of this beetle lived? Maybe she lived on other plants? But the beetles were found in abundance in such saxaul forests, where almost nothing else grew. After all, sluggish and sluggish beetles could not move from somewhere else. And it is not customary for the scutellum to eat different plants. Two years of searching for the larva were unsuccessful, and the life of the scutellus remained unsolved until the end.
On the tips of the green branches of the saxaul, a small, elongated, ovoid gall grew among the multitude of galls. It was inhabited by mites, barely distinguishable even under a strong magnifying glass. The Gauls were gentle and easily crushed by their fingers. Therefore, they had to be collected especially carefully: a test tube was placed under the gall, and a branch with it was cut off with scissors.
But what was my surprise when one day, in a test tube, some of the "Gauls" suddenly came to life and began to slowly crawl along the wall, trying to get out. And from one "gall" crawled out, leaving a transparent shell, an almost strengthened beetle - a saxaul shield-beetle. It immediately became clear that the larvae of the scutellus exactly copied the galls of the mites and were so similar to them that even close they did not resemble a beetle larva in any way. It turns out that the larvae climbed onto the tip of the green twig, set the body aside at a right angle and began to gnaw the top. Here they all molted in the same position and the yellow skin hung on the tip of the body, increasing the resemblance to a gall. One twig was enough to turn from a larva into an adult beetle without changing the place and position of the body. Only after that did the insect leave the nursery twig.
The resemblance of the larva to the gall is not accidental. This imitation has developed over many millennia. Since then, looking at the galls of the mites, each time I asked myself the question: is this a real gall or a fake? ..
Nobody needs excrement, except for dung beetles. And there were many imitators of this substrate. Insects decorate themselves with excrement to protect themselves from enemies. The perfectly white young caterpillars of the silkworm Triloqua obliquissima look like bird droppings, especially when sitting on leaves. But then, growing up, they replace this unpresentable outfit with a greenish one with red spots and outgrowths and then acquire a more noble resemblance to the scales of the base of the tree petioles. The moth Problepiss aegretta moth is very similar to bird droppings and sits motionless, closely pressed against the surface of the leaves. The moth caterpillar Acronycta does much the same. At first, it looks like bird excrement, but, growing up, it becomes poisonous and then, no longer hiding, acquires a bright blue color with yellow spots. Many small moths, sitting in a calm state on leaves with outstretched wings, resemble bird droppings spilled on the leaf. Other butterflies are similar to droppings due to their cylindrical body shape.
The sun tilted towards the horizon as we left the gentle mountain with stone pillars. A few more descents and ascents - and in front of us suddenly appeared a huge flat desert stretching into the distance towards the blue horizon. To the side, away from the road, is a dark spot, almost black against the light background of the desert. A poorly visible road goes in that direction. We ride along it, cutting through the chilled evening air. A dark spot grows every minute, and before us is a completely different world: a dense forest of mighty old willows, very small, no more than a hundred meters in diameter, a tiny piece of forest in the middle of a vast dry desert!
It is damp, cool and gloomy underfoot. Frightened green frogs flop into the clear water of a small spring. The tall grass stirred a little, and the tail of a large snake flashed through it. Frightened by our appearance, he hid in a heap of stones. The line is very noisy. The cries of sparrows rush from the tops of the willows - they are a whole society here. Small nests are visible high on the branches, and to the side of them, on a thick branch, the nest of some large predator, built from a pile of sticks and twigs, darkens. Apparently, the forest provides shelter to many birds: on the ground, grass, on trunks and branches, lumps of bird droppings turn white.
My companion decided to see what was in the birds' nests, and climbed the willow, trying not to touch bird droppings... A white lump of droppings falls off easily, but does not fall to the ground. He suddenly transforms into a wonderful butterfly. Having made several hasty zigzags in the air, the butterfly again sits on the trunk of an old willow and again turns into a white lump with black veins and spots, similar to droppings.
There are many deceiving butterflies. They sit upside down, strictly upright. Legs, antennae, everything that an insect can give out are not visible and are carefully hidden under the wings folded over the body. The butterflies are completely motionless. No movement betrays lurking insects. Black specks and stripes are scattered along the silvery-white wings. They are not the same, each of the butterflies has its own pattern. And, of course, all butterflies are capable of falling down like inanimate lumps, without opening their wings to the very ground, like parachutists in a long jump. Catching deceiving butterflies was not worth a lot of work - it was enough to substitute an open stain under the lumps hanging on the bark.
Soon it gets dark under the trees. The hubbub of birds dies down. In a small line, it is done as quietly as in the desert. We get out into the open and consider our catch. In appearance, these are ermine moths - typical arboreal inhabitants. The light robe of the moth with black spots resembles a white ermine fur coat with black tips of tails. Accidentally getting here in the desert, in this small forest, butterflies took root among the numerous avian society. It was easy for them to hide near bird droppings due to their wonderful coloration. And at night it's not scary to fly - the birds are asleep ...
Some click beetles are similar to bird droppings. One South African beetle is so similar to excrement that the entomologist D. H. Carpenter, who has studied insect mimicry for many years, had difficulty recognizing the deception. The larvae of the aforementioned scutellus beetles also camouflage themselves, covering themselves with excrement. For this purpose, they use a special tail of a very peculiar device that can be thrown back. Porphyraspis, native to South America, resort to even more in an unusual way disguise. The larva releases thin long filaments from the anus, each of which consists of many plant fibers passed through the alimentary canal. These threads skillfully braid the body of the larva and stick out in all directions like bushes, a little resembling a bird's nest.
On the back of the tzionus elephant black spot similar to the hole left by the larva of the rider
The techniques used by insects to deceive their enemies are extremely varied. Weevil beetles of the genus Cionus give the complete impression of being struck by the wasp. There is a black spot on their light back, like a hole from a rider who has come out.
Mimicking each other is the most common phenomenon in insects. In order to see such deceivers, you do not have to go to hot tropical countries- to the kingdom of the most diverse and numerous insects. This deception works especially easily on inexperienced animals and birds. And a person, especially little knowledgeable in entomology, also easily becomes a victim of deception.
Ants ... wherever they are not! Everywhere and everywhere they swarm, roam in search of prey for their family. Small, and, probably, tasteless, in hard covers - a solid lump of knightly armor. In addition, many have a sting and poison. Should I touch them? This is probably why, surprisingly often, insects are very cleverly imitating ants. These are the humpback leafhoppers and the Sudanese grasshopper Myrmecophana fallax that live in Central America. A thin ant-shaped waist and a swollen abdomen in a grasshopper are "depicted" with black pigment on an ordinary green grasshopper body, matching the color of the surrounding vegetation. However, the impression of a narrow waist is achieved by two more bright white spots located on both sides of the chest and abdomen. Such is the European reduvium bug. Small bugs, numerous in the Tien Shan mountains, are unusually similar in appearance and behavior to small black ants. Their waist effect is achieved by two white spots. This method of camouflaging insects is not yet known to fashionistas.
The bug of the genus Pamphantus is similar to an ant: in the nymphal stage it has a narrow waist, in the adult the pattern changes, the white spots on the wings imitate the narrowing of the body.
One of the cicadas of the family Membracidae does not imitate ants, as many of its relatives do, but pieces of leaves that leaf-cutting ants take to their nests to fertilize cultivated "mushroom gardens". Once I met an insect that adopted even more original way imitation.
In the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau, the grass has not yet burned out, there are many insects. Here is a fly landing on a blue flower. But, probably, she has already slipped away somewhere, since she is not on the flower, and only two ants drag their prey and, as happens with them, they cannot do without mutual claims. Here one of the ants overpowered the other and rushed with the burden in his direction, but the defeated rallied with strength and dragged the prey in the opposite direction. A temporary failure does not discourage the enemy - he stubbornly rested, delayed the movement. Finally, unable to overpower each other, the ants began to pull and flap their prey, dragging it into different sides... What kind of loot can you quarrel about for so long?
As soon as my tweezers touch the fighters, the ants instantly disappear, hide somewhere up and to the side, and the blue flower is empty. Maybe everything just seemed to me? And are they ants? Struck by the guess that some insect imitated the bully's fight, I begin to carefully examine the same blue flowers.
Here, on one flower, the ants are again dragging prey and are very similar to those seen before. It is necessary to quickly pull out a large magnifying glass from the backpack: you can look into it from a distance without frightening insects.
The guess was correct! Everything became clear at once: a small fly was crawling on the flower, grimacing and twitching from side to side, and on its glass-transparent wings it was as if one black ant was drawn. The drawing seemed very believable and, complemented by unusual movements, heightened the impression.
Atsiura fly has ants on its wings
The fly belonged to the variegated wing family, its specific name is Aciura coryli. In most species of this family, the wings are covered with clearly outlined dark spots and appear variegated. Larvae of almost all variegated insects develop in tissues. different plants and most often in flowers. But entomologists, perhaps, do not know about a fly imitating an ant.
We must catch the fly. With a sinking heart, I raise the net, the raised hand stops for a moment. A sharp swing - the head of a blue flower, knocked down by a butterfly net, flies to the side. In the net among the green leaves, something is crawling and moving. Carefully, so as not to crush the prey, I spread the net. Right now, there should be a wonderful variegated wing in this fold. But the fly, having escaped from the net, is carried away into the distance, disappearing into the blue of the sky.
I looked at many blue flowers, but never met the variegated wing. Long, persistent and monotonous searches have yielded no results. Is it all gone? Isn't it possible to dig up the flower on which the variegated fly was first encountered. What if it's a female laying eggs in the ovary of a flower?
I planted the plant in an earthen pot, which I placed in a large cage covered with wire mesh. Every day I sprayed it with water and occasionally watered it.
The calculation was justified. On the fifteenth day, several flies were crawling in the cage, twitching amusingly, and they had a "black ant" on each wing. It was the offspring of a wonderful variegated wing ...
Shiny dark green poisonous bindweed beetle is clearly visible among light desert vegetation
It has already been said that many insects defend themselves by being inedible, poisonous, or possessing a sting. And so that the enemies did not make mistakes, they acquired a bright, defiant color, well-remembered and noticeable shape. Such lucky ones have no reason to hide, to be invisible. On the contrary, they try to be in sight so that everyone can see, know and remember that they are dangerous, poisonous. Weak insects began to imitate them, and so successfully that sometimes not only a birdie, a lizard or a frog could not distinguish a deceiver from the model he was imitating, but also entomologists were more than once embarrassed by such werewolves.
There are a lot of examples, all of them can not be counted. Let's dwell on some of them.
The leafy wasp with a sting is clearly visible due to its dark color with bright yellow stripes
Countless insects imitate wasps. The Australian wasp from the family Eumenidae is mimicked by two longhorn beetles. Both have a pattern on top, like a wasp, black stripes alternating with yellow; but in the first - on the elytra, in the second - on the abdomen, since the elytra are reduced and turned into small appendages. This same wasp is imitated by many flies, butterflies and other beetles. Many variegated butterflies are very similar to the stinging Hymenoptera. Their wings are transparent, without scales, and the shape of the body and movement are similar to the models.
Glass butterflies are also similar to stinging hymenoptera. This is the glass case of Aegeria apiformis. However, the name given to it, in translation meaning "bee-like", is not entirely successful, since it is most of all similar to large wasp- hornet.
The barbel beetle Clytus arietis looks like a wasp with alternating black and white stripes. It enhances the resemblance to a wasp with rapid, gusty wasp movements. They are extremely similar to wasps not only in color and body shape, but also in behavior of the butterfly Glaucopidae. The Brazilian locust Scaphura nigra is similar to the wasp Pepsis saphirus. When it runs in zigzags with outstretched wings, exactly copying the movements of the wasp, the similarity becomes simply striking.
The longhorn beetle plagionotus imitates a wasp in danger, vibrating with its outstretched hind legs
The barbel beetle plagionotus inhabiting the Semirechye often sits on large white umbrella flowers, visited by wasps and bees. Its corpus luteum is mottled with transverse, wasp-like, black stripes. In case of danger, it begins to vibrate so quickly with its long hind limbs extended along the body that they become like transparent wings. With this, the barbel enhances the resemblance to the wasp.
In the meadows in the forest, in the swamps, in the field above the flowers, tireless sirfid flies fly everywhere. They love large white flowers of umbrella plants, on which they spend time in the company of bees, wasps, bumblebees - insects of decisive, independent, armed with sharp daggers and poison. Outwardly, sirphids look like them, especially wasps, imitating them with bright yellow transverse stripes on dark background abdomen. Often a sirfida transforms so successfully that you look for a long time and ask yourself: who is this? Fly or wasp?
A sirfida fly looks very similar to a wasp
And yet, not believing your eyes and suspecting deception so widespread in the world of insects, you reach for a magnifying glass. Antennae are short, there are not four wings, but two - a fly!
A strip of thorny sow thistle stretches along the steep bank of a large irrigation canal. Its purple blossoms smell strong and pleasant. Many flowers have not yet opened, some have long faded, and the fluffy heads turn white. They flock to the smell of sow thistle different insects... But most of all are some large bees collecting pollen on flowers. The hind legs of the bee appear thick from the collected pollen - as the beekeepers say, with pollen.
Bees hovering over a thistle are larger than domestic ones. For some reason, they are not very hardworking, sometimes they start chasing each other in a completely different way, are carried away into the distance, return back to flowers, behave frivolously and carelessly. Is it a bee? Is there some kind of deception here?
I take two steps forward, towards the thorny strip of sow thistle, peering intently: smooth flight, familiar song of wings, hind legs loaded with pollen. The insect sits on a flower and suddenly transforms, becomes the most ordinary sirfida. Here's a surprise: there is a bee in the air, and a fly on the plant!
How great is the power of the image! An insignificant but typical touch of any animal is enough for us to complement everything else with imagination. Only one leg, similar to a bee, - with a clump, but it seems to us - a real bee, and involuntarily the hand reaches for the tweezers to pull it out of the net - after all, you simply cannot use your hand, it will sting. The legs of the sirfida, it turns out, are the most ordinary, and there is no thickening on them, similar to the polish. The surprise is so great that you involuntarily think: did it all seem like it? But, as before, sirphids soar over the flowers, and everyone has thick legs, as if with a clump.
No, it didn't seem. You just need to sit in one place, do not move and wait for the fly to fly closer, and examine it well with a magnifying glass. It turns out that during flight, the fly presses the lower leg to the thigh, puts its hind legs down and vibrates them. The legs thicken like a bee. Thick hairs help imitation. Probably, they only exist for this. A clever fake!
The poisonous caterpillar of the Eurasian hawk moth has a very striking appearance.
Inedible butterflies, heliconids, live in tropical America. The birds never touch them. Many quite edible butterflies from other families imitate heliconids not only in color and shape, but also in their manner of flight. Brehm wrote that sometimes this similarity is so great that even experts are mistaken and cannot say, seeing a flying butterfly, whether it is a heliconide or just its "imitator."
Insect species that are distinguished by their ability to imitate others are extremely variable. Often a species exists in two interbreeding variations, one of which imitates a strong, poisonous insect. Such is the swallowtail butterfly of the genus Papilio. Only females imitate. The black variation is similar to other species of butterflies, the yellow one is common. Black prevails over yellow in areas where its pattern is found in abundance.
Traveling through the Amazon, the Polish naturalist A. Fiedler came across a butterfly, on the underside of which an owl with two bulging eyes, a sharp beak and a precise plumage pattern is depicted. Owl butterflies fly only at dusk, when real owls wake up.
One of the largest butterflies in our country - the hawk moth has a "dead head" - there is a drawing of a human skull on its chest! This hawk moth is well known to beekeepers. He climbs into the hive and steals honey. It is difficult to say to what extent such a pattern frightens the enemies of this butterfly. After all, the human skull is familiar only to people. Be that as it may, but some superstitious beekeepers are afraid to touch this butterfly, assuming that it is guarded by an unkind spirit.
Many butterflies found in Brazil are very similar to small birds hummingbird. Perhaps this similarity is accidental and is simply caused by the same lifestyle, since both feed on the nectar of large tropical flowers. One butterfly from the genus Macroglossa resembles a hummingbird not only in shape, but also in behavior and flight. Because of her, the local population has a belief that butterflies are able to turn into birds, and vice versa. Why not, think the simple-minded inhabitants of Brazilian forests, if a worm can turn into a butterfly, and worms emerge from butterfly eggs!
Is it not a coincidence that the imitators are similar to their models?
What argues against this opinion is that "models" imitate not only form, but also behavior, which complements the perfection of imitation. Further, it has been observed that imitators almost always live with their models. So, sirfid flies willingly visit large umbrella plants on which wasps and bees, which they imitate, feed on. Here, along with their indirect patrons, the sirfid flies are safer than anywhere else.
It turns out that imitators live in the same area as their models. In the South and East Asia there is not a single member of the genus Prioneris that does not imitate the butterflies of the genus Delias. Everywhere the couple consists of the plagiarist and the one whose appearance he imitates. At the same time, butterflies of both genera fly together and rest side by side on red flowers.
In the ability to imitate a strong one, males and females have different abilities. The females of the North American butterfly Papilio dardanus form several races that differ from each other, as they mimic the butterflies Acraeinae and Danainae, which live in the same area. There is nothing surprising in this. Females take care of the offspring, so their life is valuable for the continuation of the offspring and the preservation of the species.
African butterflies from the genera Dicanidae all imitate some completely unrelated but well-protected butterfly.
Imitation often goes so far that those who have transformed their appearance are very different from their closest relatives. For example, some predatory ktyr flies have lost their resemblance to ktyrs, as they began to imitate the blue tree-gnawing bees. Glass butterflies are very different from their relatives. Their appearance is not at all like that of butterflies. In accordance with this, they also changed their way of life. Thus, the glass bowl Trochilium crabroniformis flies during the day, when bumblebees, which it looks like, work on the flowers, although most of the butterflies of this group, to which this glass bowl belongs, are nocturnal.
Bumblebee hawk moth mimics bumblebee
Similarity does not in any way depend on relationship. It is achieved in various ways. So, many butterflies imitating the hymenoptera armed with a sting have transparent wings. But this transparency is achieved different ways... As a rule, different butterflies have different sizes and shapes of scales. In some they are very thin or their number is greatly reduced, in others they are greatly reduced in size; in some butterflies they stand sideways, so the wing is translucent, or transparent and weakly attached to the wing and easily falls off. Thus, within the class of insects, the same goal is achieved in many ways. Each imitator went to his model in his own way.
The inedible soldier bug has a bright red color with black specks, and at the rear end of the body there is a large black spot and a snow-white speck
Not all insects have the same ability to imitate. First of all, of course, there are no imitators among the poisonous and inedible, etc. So, the art of deception is unusual for bees, wasps, bumblebees, ants. There are no imitators among very small insects. They don't need it, since they are not of interest to birds, frogs, lizards - they are very small and difficult to distinguish. Do not imitate other insects and aphids. They are well protected by their incredible breeding ability. In addition, they have protectors - active ants. But imitation is highly developed in such large, completely edible and, moreover, inactive insects like stick insects. Decisively all representatives of this order of insects resemble sticks, dry twigs of plants, remarkably similar to tree leaves, lumps of moss, lichens. Even their eggs, as we have already said, are similar to the seeds of plants. Praying mantises are not inferior to stick insects. Among them there are those that look like bark, like lichens, like stalks of cereals, like leaves, and even like flowers of plants. Carnivorous bugs successfully imitate other insects.
Among butterflies, representatives of entire families have become completely imitators. So, butterflies of the family Ginthomdidae are remarkable for their similarity with many Hymenoptera and are very different from their closest relatives. This family has gathered an almost complete set of imitators of the most diverse Hymenoptera. Among them, one butterfly, which is extremely similar to the rider, even has a long outgrowth, similar to the ovipositor. This outgrowth does not play any role in the life of the insect. Among the butterflies of the family Heterochonidae there are those similar to the scoop, leaf rollers and even insects of other orders.
Some insects, for some unknown reason, imitate other insects. Their models are as defenseless as their imitators. As if such imitation is devoid of meaning or, more precisely, biological expediency. For example, some bluebirds of the genera Lyptena and Vanessula are similar to butterflies of the nymphalid and whitefly families.
Perhaps, in these cases, the similarity is due to a simple coincidence. Butterflies of the genus Delias regularly fly from one valley to another in the evenings and return back in the morning before sunrise. The moths of the genus Dysfania take part in the travels, very similar to butterflies, with which they make a company on flights. With them, hawk moths similar to them also fly together. What is the reason for this similarity? Is it because they distract the attention of predators from themselves, being among the traveling butterflies?
The wingless long-legged mosquitoes of the genus Chionea resemble spiders in appearance. What is the point of this is not clear. However, it could happen that the insect, which was imitated by several other insects, died out, but the imitators remained. The appearance does not change quickly! It has been perfected over many millions of years of evolution.
Deception is often accomplished in opposite ways. So, many long-wattled insects imitate short-wattled ones or, rather, mask their long antennae with a light transverse stripe. In addition, in front of the stripe itself from the side of the head, the antenna segment is widened, giving the impression of a club and the end of the antenna, while the rest of the antenna remains ordinary, thin. Many flies imitate long-wattled insects. They vibrate with their front legs, giving the impression of long tendrils. The kraevik bug and cockroach, imitating ichneumon riders, have a ring on their antennae. One of the flies on its front legs has the same ring, which it tries to make look like antennae.