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− | {{Strange_Wonders_Infobox|previous = ---|next = [[ |
+ | {{Strange_Wonders_Infobox|previous = ---|next = [[Platypus]]|card = 1|species = ''Phyllium/various''|size = Length up to 4 in.|habitat =Rainforests of southeastern Asia and northern Australia |prey = |lifespan = 3 years as a larva; a few months as an adult|row7 = A leaf insect's disguise is so good that other leaf-eating insects often bite into their cousins by mistake.|food = Leaves}} |
One of the weirdest wonders of the rainforest, the leaf insect is easy to miss. With a wide, veiny body and legs that look like ragged leaves, this insect probably has the best camouflage in the wild. Many predators pass right by this insect without taking a second glance. |
One of the weirdest wonders of the rainforest, the leaf insect is easy to miss. With a wide, veiny body and legs that look like ragged leaves, this insect probably has the best camouflage in the wild. Many predators pass right by this insect without taking a second glance. |
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+ | <blockquote>'''Night Moves:''' Leaf insects are only active at night. During the day, they climb onto a branch and hang by their front legs, blending right in with the leaves. Predators can stand on the same branch as the insect and not even know it's there.</blockquote> |
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⚫ | <blockquote>'''Ultra-Camo:''' The leaf insect's body (called the abdomen) has veins that look like those found in a leaf. They can be misshapen and colored brown or red around the edges to look like a withered leaf, or can even have transparent spots to look like a hungry insect has eaten a hole through it.</blockquote> |
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+ | ==The Amazing Leaf Insect== |
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[[File:Leaf Insects Back Image.png|left|thumb|220x220px|Males are smaller than females.]] |
[[File:Leaf Insects Back Image.png|left|thumb|220x220px|Males are smaller than females.]] |
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Even though the leaf insect performs one of the best disappearing acts in nature, it has more tricks up its sleeve. If a predator is crafty enough to recognize a leaf insect and grab it by the leg, the insect sheds the leg and moves away to safety. If a predator grabs another part of the leaf insect's body, it can squirt a stinky, stinging chemical from a gland behind its head. |
Even though the leaf insect performs one of the best disappearing acts in nature, it has more tricks up its sleeve. If a predator is crafty enough to recognize a leaf insect and grab it by the leg, the insect sheds the leg and moves away to safety. If a predator grabs another part of the leaf insect's body, it can squirt a stinky, stinging chemical from a gland behind its head. |
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+ | <blockquote>'''You Are What You Eat:''' Not surprisingly, the leaf insect's diet consists entirely of leaves. Since the creature looks exactly like what it's eating, it can even stay camouflaged while having dinner.</blockquote> |
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+ | ===It Takes all Kinds=== |
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# Though every leaf insect closely resembles a leaf, members of the same species can look radically different from one another. |
# Though every leaf insect closely resembles a leaf, members of the same species can look radically different from one another. |
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# Some leaf insects have brown around the edges to mimic a fungus that grows on leaves. |
# Some leaf insects have brown around the edges to mimic a fungus that grows on leaves. |
Revision as of 03:06, 5 November 2018
One of the weirdest wonders of the rainforest, the leaf insect is easy to miss. With a wide, veiny body and legs that look like ragged leaves, this insect probably has the best camouflage in the wild. Many predators pass right by this insect without taking a second glance.
Night Moves: Leaf insects are only active at night. During the day, they climb onto a branch and hang by their front legs, blending right in with the leaves. Predators can stand on the same branch as the insect and not even know it's there.
Ultra-Camo: The leaf insect's body (called the abdomen) has veins that look like those found in a leaf. They can be misshapen and colored brown or red around the edges to look like a withered leaf, or can even have transparent spots to look like a hungry insect has eaten a hole through it.
The Amazing Leaf Insect
Even though the leaf insect performs one of the best disappearing acts in nature, it has more tricks up its sleeve. If a predator is crafty enough to recognize a leaf insect and grab it by the leg, the insect sheds the leg and moves away to safety. If a predator grabs another part of the leaf insect's body, it can squirt a stinky, stinging chemical from a gland behind its head.
You Are What You Eat: Not surprisingly, the leaf insect's diet consists entirely of leaves. Since the creature looks exactly like what it's eating, it can even stay camouflaged while having dinner.
Out of Sight: The leaf insect blends in even before it's born. Its small eggs look like seeds, so egg-eating predators pay no attention to them. When the larva (called a nymph) hatches, it climbs the first tree it finds.
It Takes all Kinds
- Though every leaf insect closely resembles a leaf, members of the same species can look radically different from one another.
- Some leaf insects have brown around the edges to mimic a fungus that grows on leaves.
- A third member of the same species may be brown so it can imitate dead leaves.
Trading Card