Gigantic Amazon stick insect (photo)
A gigantic stick insect in the Peruvian Amazon More photos of stick insects.
Colorful katydid in New Guinea (photo)
Katydid nymph in a tract of forest near Manokwari in West Papua, Indonesian New Guinea. More photos of katydids.
Butterfly with transparent wings (photo)
These Cithaerias clear-winged butterflies can be found in Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula. A number of similar species are found in lowland forests across Central and South America. More pictures of butterflies and moths.
A giant leaf-mimicking praying mantis (photo)
The giant leaf-mimicking praying mantis was photographed in Suriname’s Brownsberg Nature Park in 2008. It showed no fear of the camera.
The Bee: A Natural History – book review
By Gabriel Thoumi Did you know… There are 20,000 species of bees on Earth. Bees pollinate 130 of the foods we depend on and are often the sole and only pollinator of the foods we eat every day. Bees and other animals cross-pollinate over 90 percent of Earth’s plants. Bees co-evolved, along with angiosperms – flowering plants – over 100 million years ago. Ancient Egyptians were avid beekeepers possibly as far back as 5,000 BCE – or...
Photo: caterpillar invasion
Caterpillars in Manu National Park, Peru. We have been unable to identify this species, if you know please contact us. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler.
Photo: world’s prettiest grasshopper looks like something out of Avatar
Native to Madagascar, the incredibly colored Rainbow Milkweed Locust (Phymateus saxosus) is toxic due to its propensity to eat milkweed. The stunning colors and wild patterns make this species look like it belongs on Pandora, the alien moon setting of James Cameron’s film Avatar. Photo by: Rhett A....
Photos: tiny creatures of Gabon
Dung beetle working hard with a ball of dung in Gabon. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. In wildlife terms Gabon is known for gorillas, chimpanzees, forest elephants, and mandrills. But Gabon is also home to a reach variety of mini-fauna, a few of which are highlighted here. Copper-colored tiny spider in Gabon. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Bright butterfly in Gabon. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Caterpillar in Gabon. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Beige...
Photo: If you really love them, name a giant hissing cockroach after them
Nothing says happy Valentine’s Day like Madagascar’s giant hissing cockroach. Photo by: Julie Larsen Maher. Running late on your valentine’s gift? Have no idea what to get your special someone? Well, according to Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Bronx Zoo, nothing says ‘I love you’ like naming a giant hissing cockroach after your sweetheart! WCS is offering brave romancers the chance to name...
Photo: not tic-tacs, but millipedes
While it may look like someone spilled a a container of dark green tic-tacs, these are actually a swarm of young Malagasy emerald pill millipedes. Photographed in Madagascar these millipedes are classified in the order of Sphaerotheriida. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. Click to see more photos of millipedes (and...
What happens when you cross a giraffe with a beetle?
You get the giraffe-necked weevil (Trachelophorus giraffa) of course! This strange insect is native to Madagascar. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Click to see more photos of the giraffe-necked weevil (Trachelophorus...
Picture: magenta and yellow insect
This magenta and yellow katydid was common in the lowland rainforest near Manokwari in West Papua. I don’t know the species.
Photo: stunning yellow-headed fly
Yellow-headed Soldier Fly in Bosque Jequitibás, Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Brazilian photographer Guillermo Gimenez.
Founder of mongabay.com stumbles upon undescribed species in Indonesia
According to a New Guinea beetle specialist, an apparently undescribed species of Tmesisternus longhorn beetle spotted by mongabay.com founder Rhett A. Butler in West Papua. If you have information on this possibly new species, please contact us. Photo by: Rhett A....
Unidentified moth emerges from the dark
An as yet unidentified moth in Madagascar. Photo taken at Andasibe-Perinet-Analamazoatra. Photo by Rhett A. Butler, 2009. If you have information about the identity of this species, please contact us. To see more photos of moths and butterflies in...
