I was watching some nature videos and shit on YouTube the other day when I stumbled upon this amazing little fucker. It really blew my mind, and probably will your's too. Enjoy:
That camouflage is just so amazing and if it wasn't for the video description providing the species common and scientific name I wouldn't be so sure it's a real insect or cgi 😅🤣
Lichen Katydid (Markia hystrix, Family: Tettigoniidae), Costa Rica, Cartago Province.
Here's some more info from Wikipedia:
Markia hystrix is a species of katydid in the subfamily Phaneropterinae. It occurs in South America. A common name for it is lichen katydid because it lives surrounded by Usnea lichen on which it sustains itself.
Did I say some? Well, I meant the only. I checked the usual other sources like EOL (encyclopedia of life) but I couldn't find much info either. I guess it's a poorly described species and honestly I am too lazy to dub into the scientific literature to find more, if there's any, info about it. I guess
even knowing such a weird creature is out there is enough :)
By the way, the guy who uploaded this video has some other cool videos too, like this crazy looking spider know as the "Demon Horned Orb-Weaver Spider" (Macracantha Arcuata):
Or this Flatid Planthopper Nymph (Flatidae, Fulgoroidea) that looks like a walking pop corn, lmao:
He even has a video of what is imo the weirdest looking insect, the globe-bearing Treehopper (Bocydium globulare) which looks like a helicopter bug:
So yeah, check his channel out, definitely worth a sub if you are into nature and stuff.
Ok, enough weird critters for today!