Dead Leaf Walking
While this mantis is remarkable when viewed from the front during a defensive display like the pose seen here, when its wings are folded and it is seen from the top or back, it looks like it could be part of the forest floor.
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DownloadDead Leaf Walking
While this mantis is remarkable when viewed from the front during a defensive display like the pose seen here, when its wings are folded and it is seen from the top or back, it looks like it could be part of the forest floor.
What am I looking at?
This is a dead leaf mantis (Deroplatys truncata) engaging in a defensive display to make itself look as big and threatening as possible. You can see the large shield on its upper thorax, or pronotum (1); its extended wings (2); and its raised forelegs (3), with a spiky femur and a serrated tibia.
Biology in the background
This mantis is a master of camouflage; with its wings folded and its legs tucked in, it nearly perfectly mimics a dead leaf. These mantises live in the rainforests of Southeast Asia, where there is plenty of dead leaf litter to blend in with on the forest floor. This camouflage helps the mantis avoid being detected by its predators and also its prey – small insects, reptiles, and amphibians. It is an ambush predator, sitting in wait for prey to wander close and then pouncing from concealment, grabbing the prey with its raptorial front legs.
These mantises can grow up to 7 centimeters long, or roughly the size of a human pinky finger.
Technique
These images were created using macrophotography.
TagsIgor Siwanowicz, HHMI's Janelia Research Campus