Camouflage Insects – Remarkable Bugs that Hide in Plain Sight

Possibly the most remarkable of insects mimics, it can immitate two different predators. The obvious one is that it looks like an owl, hence it’s name the “Owl Butterfly”. But it has a second trick… each of its wings ALSO looks like the side-view of a snake! The only other animal that I know of that can mimic two different species is the mimic octopus in ocean off Australia.

The sphinx moth caterpillar grows huge, munching on the local frangipani (florblanca) trees. The coloration is very similar to color snakes, which are highly venemous, which warns predators that it could be dangerous. This caterpillar is harmless, although when it’s larger it can pinch your finger with its teeth if you pick it up.

The lanternfly was mis-named over 100 years ago when a researcher found a dead one that had phosphoresence growing on it. He thought it glowed and named it the lanternfly for it’s supposed ability to produce light. It can’t. It’s also known as the peanut-head moth, or the alligator head moth. It’s bulbous head looks like a reptile… snake, alligator, lizard, etc. In addition, its coloration blends into the background of this tree remarkably well.

The thorn bug of course looks like a thorn on a plant stem. They are well aware of this, and hide in plain sight on the stems of plants where a thorn would naturally be.

A green legged walking stick bug with a brown body.

A large brown walking stick with a rough-textured body. On rare occasions, these stickbugs can grow even quite a bit larger than the one shown here.

This large green stickbug stands out on my keyboard, but one can easily imagine how well it can hide in green plants. It will be nearly invisible in the jungle.

This praying mantis is fairly rare here. It’s wings are green and look exactly like leaves, helping it hide in the jungle while waiting for its prey.

This moth looks so much like a leaf that even close up, it’s still remarkably leaf-like. These are fairly common and often go un-noticed by tourists and residents who never realize what they really are.

The katydid is a noisy bug that comes in many varieties… some are even more amazingly good at imitating a leaf than the one shown here in the photo. Katydids belong to a group of bugs known as “singing” insects.

A very skinny, almost invisible spider that looks like two sticks. It puts its legs together in such a way so that it doesn’t have the classic spider shape, helping it hide right on its own web. Some such spiders also paint a flower-pattern on its web in Ultraviolet colors, which are invisible to humans, but attract insects to the shape and color.

The wings of this large cicada are incredibly transparent… they look like plastic. This helps it look smaller when it flies, so it’s less likely to be seen by birds who would pluck it out of the air for dinner.

This dragonfly has transparent wing ends, which help it look much smaller when it flies. I wonder why the entire wings aren’t transparent, since that would make it even more invisible. For some reason, such as possibly finding mates, it has evolved to have the ideal visual profile.

This green spider hides in the green foliage waiting for its next meal.

A green caterpillar that’s almost invisible among the leaves.

This grasshopper literally hops from grass stem to grass stem, blending in perfectly with its identically-colored body.

This bug is probably a worm or larvae that collects bits of things in its natural environment and sticks them to its back, making it nearly impossible to ever detect unless it walks across a very plain background, as shown here in these two photos.