Look closely at the first image, can you find it? This is hands down one of the most remarkable examples of camouflage in nature, and one that I had previously only seen in textbooks. It’s an insect, and it is *very* well disguised. Once you give up, you can swipe right until it finally stands out. If you managed to find it from image one, you’re welcome to assist me in the field any time! Seeing this moss mimic stick insect (Trichopeplus laciniatus) in the wild was a bucket list experience for me. This species is endemic to the cloud forests of Monteverde, Costa Rica, and is unsurprisingly nearly impossible to find. Even with it right in front of me I would lose it by merely glancing down at my camera to change settings and have to find it again as it moved a few inches over to another patch of moss., As you can see by the munch marks on the leaves in the final image, it is one of the few insects that feeds on orchids. Which, here in the cloud forest, is a telltale sign that this stick insect is nearby, though finding it is never a guarantee even with that lead. #entomology #costarica
Look closely at the first image, can you find it? This is hands down one of the most remarkable examples of camouflage in nature, and one that I had previously only seen in textbooks. It’s an insect, and it is *very* well disguised. Once you give up, you can swipe right until it finally stands out. If you managed to find it from image one, you’re welcome to assist me in the field any time! Seeing this moss mimic stick insect (Trichopeplus laciniatus) in the wild was a bucket list experience for me. This species is endemic to the cloud forests of Monteverde, Costa Rica, and is unsurprisingly nearly impossible to find. Even with it right in front of me I would lose it by merely glancing down at my camera to change settings and have to find it again as it moved a few inches over to another patch of moss., As you can see by the munch marks on the leaves in the final image, it is one of the few insects that feeds on orchids. Which, here in the cloud forest, is a telltale sign that this stick insect is nearby, though finding it is never a guarantee even with that lead. #entomology #costarica
Look closely at the first image, can you find it? This is hands down one of the most remarkable examples of camouflage in nature, and one that I had previously only seen in textbooks. It’s an insect, and it is *very* well disguised. Once you give up, you can swipe right until it finally stands out. If you managed to find it from image one, you’re welcome to assist me in the field any time! Seeing this moss mimic stick insect (Trichopeplus laciniatus) in the wild was a bucket list experience for me. This species is endemic to the cloud forests of Monteverde, Costa Rica, and is unsurprisingly nearly impossible to find. Even with it right in front of me I would lose it by merely glancing down at my camera to change settings and have to find it again as it moved a few inches over to another patch of moss., As you can see by the munch marks on the leaves in the final image, it is one of the few insects that feeds on orchids. Which, here in the cloud forest, is a telltale sign that this stick insect is nearby, though finding it is never a guarantee even with that lead. #entomology #costarica
Look closely at the first image, can you find it? This is hands down one of the most remarkable examples of camouflage in nature, and one that I had previously only seen in textbooks. It’s an insect, and it is *very* well disguised. Once you give up, you can swipe right until it finally stands out. If you managed to find it from image one, you’re welcome to assist me in the field any time! Seeing this moss mimic stick insect (Trichopeplus laciniatus) in the wild was a bucket list experience for me. This species is endemic to the cloud forests of Monteverde, Costa Rica, and is unsurprisingly nearly impossible to find. Even with it right in front of me I would lose it by merely glancing down at my camera to change settings and have to find it again as it moved a few inches over to another patch of moss., As you can see by the munch marks on the leaves in the final image, it is one of the few insects that feeds on orchids. Which, here in the cloud forest, is a telltale sign that this stick insect is nearby, though finding it is never a guarantee even with that lead. #entomology #costarica
Look closely at the first image, can you find it? This is hands down one of the most remarkable examples of camouflage in nature, and one that I had previously only seen in textbooks. It’s an insect, and it is *very* well disguised. Once you give up, you can swipe right until it finally stands out. If you managed to find it from image one, you’re welcome to assist me in the field any time! Seeing this moss mimic stick insect (Trichopeplus laciniatus) in the wild was a bucket list experience for me. This species is endemic to the cloud forests of Monteverde, Costa Rica, and is unsurprisingly nearly impossible to find. Even with it right in front of me I would lose it by merely glancing down at my camera to change settings and have to find it again as it moved a few inches over to another patch of moss., As you can see by the munch marks on the leaves in the final image, it is one of the few insects that feeds on orchids. Which, here in the cloud forest, is a telltale sign that this stick insect is nearby, though finding it is never a guarantee even with that lead. #entomology #costarica
Look closely at the first image, can you find it? This is hands down one of the most remarkable examples of camouflage in nature, and one that I had previously only seen in textbooks. It’s an insect, and it is *very* well disguised. Once you give up, you can swipe right until it finally stands out. If you managed to find it from image one, you’re welcome to assist me in the field any time! Seeing this moss mimic stick insect (Trichopeplus laciniatus) in the wild was a bucket list experience for me. This species is endemic to the cloud forests of Monteverde, Costa Rica, and is unsurprisingly nearly impossible to find. Even with it right in front of me I would lose it by merely glancing down at my camera to change settings and have to find it again as it moved a few inches over to another patch of moss., As you can see by the munch marks on the leaves in the final image, it is one of the few insects that feeds on orchids. Which, here in the cloud forest, is a telltale sign that this stick insect is nearby, though finding it is never a guarantee even with that lead. #entomology #costarica
Will climb and jump into a waterfall in the jungle, every time. #costarica #monteverde #cloudforest #waterfall
Will climb and jump into a waterfall in the jungle, every time. #costarica #monteverde #cloudforest #waterfall
Will climb and jump into a waterfall in the jungle, every time. #costarica #monteverde #cloudforest #waterfall
Will climb and jump into a waterfall in the jungle, every time. #costarica #monteverde #cloudforest #waterfall
Will climb and jump into a waterfall in the jungle, every time. #costarica #monteverde #cloudforest #waterfall
Will climb and jump into a waterfall in the jungle, every time. #costarica #monteverde #cloudforest #waterfall
An encounter with a deadly beauty. The side striped palm pit viper, camouflaged and ready to strike any prey who happens by. Having spent years working in the tropics I have a lot of confidence in navigating and documenting forests like this, but with that confidence a humbling knowledge that tucked into any patch of green could be a coiled up danger noodle who needs some personal space. Was unbelievably stoked to see this while out at night here in the cloud forests of Monteverde, and glad it stayed in its place so the next day I could bring @silja_torres and Atlis to see if for themselves!
An encounter with a deadly beauty. The side striped palm pit viper, camouflaged and ready to strike any prey who happens by. Having spent years working in the tropics I have a lot of confidence in navigating and documenting forests like this, but with that confidence a humbling knowledge that tucked into any patch of green could be a coiled up danger noodle who needs some personal space. Was unbelievably stoked to see this while out at night here in the cloud forests of Monteverde, and glad it stayed in its place so the next day I could bring @silja_torres and Atlis to see if for themselves!
An encounter with a deadly beauty. The side striped palm pit viper, camouflaged and ready to strike any prey who happens by. Having spent years working in the tropics I have a lot of confidence in navigating and documenting forests like this, but with that confidence a humbling knowledge that tucked into any patch of green could be a coiled up danger noodle who needs some personal space. Was unbelievably stoked to see this while out at night here in the cloud forests of Monteverde, and glad it stayed in its place so the next day I could bring @silja_torres and Atlis to see if for themselves!
An encounter with a deadly beauty. The side striped palm pit viper, camouflaged and ready to strike any prey who happens by. Having spent years working in the tropics I have a lot of confidence in navigating and documenting forests like this, but with that confidence a humbling knowledge that tucked into any patch of green could be a coiled up danger noodle who needs some personal space. Was unbelievably stoked to see this while out at night here in the cloud forests of Monteverde, and glad it stayed in its place so the next day I could bring @silja_torres and Atlis to see if for themselves!
An encounter with a deadly beauty. The side striped palm pit viper, camouflaged and ready to strike any prey who happens by. Having spent years working in the tropics I have a lot of confidence in navigating and documenting forests like this, but with that confidence a humbling knowledge that tucked into any patch of green could be a coiled up danger noodle who needs some personal space. Was unbelievably stoked to see this while out at night here in the cloud forests of Monteverde, and glad it stayed in its place so the next day I could bring @silja_torres and Atlis to see if for themselves!
2023! ❤️ 8 different countries some of them multiple times, 10 states and over 60 flights for my lil Atlis 🤯❤️ we love being able to take her around the world with us, wherever our work adventures take us 🌎 Looking forward to seeing where we end up next year!
In the cloud forests of Costa Rica, a leaf is not always a leaf— and a leaf mimic is not *just* a leaf mimic. This is one species, with many forms, and an insane level of detail. Swipe between these two specimens of #Mimetica katydids from the Monteverde Cloud Forests— which has more impressive camouflage?? The green one has waxy parts and veins like a living leaf, and the brown one has parts that look like it has been eaten as well as sections that look like mold or lichen. Why such detailed polymorphism? While it is easy to be impressed by the katydids, we also need to be impressed by their predators. Monkeys and birds have remarkable eyesight and foraging skills, putting extraordinary evolutionary pressure on their prey to evolve extraordinary camouflage. If this species always looked like the same fake leaf, their predators would catch on. So, depending on environmental variables (likely what they eat) their genes express in several different ways giving us these different morphs.
In the cloud forests of Costa Rica, a leaf is not always a leaf— and a leaf mimic is not *just* a leaf mimic. This is one species, with many forms, and an insane level of detail. Swipe between these two specimens of #Mimetica katydids from the Monteverde Cloud Forests— which has more impressive camouflage?? The green one has waxy parts and veins like a living leaf, and the brown one has parts that look like it has been eaten as well as sections that look like mold or lichen. Why such detailed polymorphism? While it is easy to be impressed by the katydids, we also need to be impressed by their predators. Monkeys and birds have remarkable eyesight and foraging skills, putting extraordinary evolutionary pressure on their prey to evolve extraordinary camouflage. If this species always looked like the same fake leaf, their predators would catch on. So, depending on environmental variables (likely what they eat) their genes express in several different ways giving us these different morphs.
In the cloud forests of Costa Rica, a leaf is not always a leaf— and a leaf mimic is not *just* a leaf mimic. This is one species, with many forms, and an insane level of detail. Swipe between these two specimens of #Mimetica katydids from the Monteverde Cloud Forests— which has more impressive camouflage?? The green one has waxy parts and veins like a living leaf, and the brown one has parts that look like it has been eaten as well as sections that look like mold or lichen. Why such detailed polymorphism? While it is easy to be impressed by the katydids, we also need to be impressed by their predators. Monkeys and birds have remarkable eyesight and foraging skills, putting extraordinary evolutionary pressure on their prey to evolve extraordinary camouflage. If this species always looked like the same fake leaf, their predators would catch on. So, depending on environmental variables (likely what they eat) their genes express in several different ways giving us these different morphs.
In the cloud forests of Costa Rica, a leaf is not always a leaf— and a leaf mimic is not *just* a leaf mimic. This is one species, with many forms, and an insane level of detail. Swipe between these two specimens of #Mimetica katydids from the Monteverde Cloud Forests— which has more impressive camouflage?? The green one has waxy parts and veins like a living leaf, and the brown one has parts that look like it has been eaten as well as sections that look like mold or lichen. Why such detailed polymorphism? While it is easy to be impressed by the katydids, we also need to be impressed by their predators. Monkeys and birds have remarkable eyesight and foraging skills, putting extraordinary evolutionary pressure on their prey to evolve extraordinary camouflage. If this species always looked like the same fake leaf, their predators would catch on. So, depending on environmental variables (likely what they eat) their genes express in several different ways giving us these different morphs.
Catch me tonight on @scrippsnews doing what I love most, talking science with brilliant scientists and (literally) diving into action with them. The @benioffoceansciencelab’s Whale Safe project is saving the whales. How? By using deep sea AI acoustics with some clever communication techniques to keep cargo ships accountable and moving slowly during peak whale activity. This is important story of technology and positive change, followed by @polycrystalhd’s report on an electrode implanted into a man’s mind, helping him to live a fuller life again. Tune in! This Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday night 6:30PT/9:30ET on @scrippsnews #ScrippsTech Produced by the best: @makefreshproductions
Monos aulladores (howler monkeys), the 4am and 8pm roarers that let you know you’re in the American tropics. We saw these throughout Costa Rica, from the coastal tropical dry forest to the montane cloud forest. Even though this is a species I have encountered dozens and dozens of times, every time I see them I have to stop and stare and watch their little family units climb from tree to tree. #costarica #canonr5 #canonrf100500mm #monkey
