Rainbow grasshopper

Rainbow grasshoppers, also known as painted grasshoppers or barber grasshoppers, are found in the savannas and desert grasslands of Mexico, the US and Canada. It is a small, wingless, brightly colored grasshopper, no more than 5cm long.

The body is mainly black with some red, green and yellow patterns. Like the caterpillars of the Acraga hamata moth, its coloration protects it by warning predators that it is poisonous and unattractive as food.

Elephant trunk cicadas

Elephant trunk cicadas, scientific name Pyrops candelaria, are a strange but beautiful insect, up to 5cm in length, native to China and Southeast Asia. It is known for its long body or “nose” that resembles a rhinoceros horn.

Proboscis is a tool used to puncture fruits and plants to obtain food. Its wings resemble those of a bright butterfly. The forewings are green with yellow spots, while the hind wings are orange with black tips.

Like other cicadas, elephant-proboscis cicadas live mainly underground as larvae. Even though it has wings, it prefers to jump rather than fly. When they get bored of jumping, they start walking and the way they walk is amazing – moving sideways like a little crab.

Peacock butterfly

The peacock butterfly is one of the most beautiful butterflies in the world. The red wings have bright lines and patterns, with the eyespots being a mix of blue, white, red, yellow and purple.

The eyespots serve as a defense mechanism to deter potential predators. To deal with danger, peacock butterflies spread their wings, revealing what look like the “eyes” of larger animals.

This species can be found throughout Asia and temperate regions of Europe. The wingspan can be more than 6cm long and females are usually slightly larger than males. They can eat many different types of food. In addition to nectar, they are also attracted to tree sap and rotten fruit juice.

Damselfly

The damselfly is a large dragonfly that lives throughout Europe. Damselflies are similar to dragonflies, the difference is that when in a perching position, the wings of the damselfly lie along the body, unlike the position of the wings perpendicular to the body of the damselfly.

Damselflies can grow up to 5cm in body length and have a wingspan of about 6.5cm. The color of its splendid wings varies according to gender: males have metallic dark blue wings, while females have shiny blue-brown wings.

The color of their body changes depending on the light, which can appear blue or greenish-blue. You can find this insect near places with running water. This is a very beautiful dragonfly and lives up to its name.

Golden ladybug

Golden Tortoise Beetles are small yellow-brown beetles with black spots. Besides this striking color, golden ladybugs also have the ability to change color and shape, from yellow to red with black dots, just like regular ladybugs.

Their body is about the size of a common ladybug and has a shell-like covering for protection. The case is transparent, dome-shaped, with flat edges. When threatened, golden ladybugs hide under this shell to hide their appendages, protecting their bodies from harm and keeping them safe, similar to how turtles can hide in their shells.

Orchid mantis

The orchid mantis is an extremely beautiful mantis, up to 7cm in length, and its appearance resembles an orchid flower, so it got its name. It has a pinkish-white stem and petal-like lobes.

It often lives in flowers to camouflage itself with flowers and not be seen by prey or predators. It also sways back and forth as it moves, imitating flowers blown by the wind. They have bodies like orchid petals with a combination of many colors such as white, purple, pink… making them attractive and appealing.

Picasso beetle

The Picasso beetle (Sphaerocoris annulus) is an insect endemic to Cameroon, Ivory Coast, southern Zimbabwe and South Africa. This beetle has colorful colors and patterns to “scare” its predators. The color of the Picasso beetle resembles a painting by Pablo Picasso.

Its beautiful green apricot is decorated with red geometric patterns like a work of art. Unlike most other beetles, the shell covering the wings is only one piece. Picasso beetles mainly feed on the sap of various plants. It grows in both tropical and subtropical Africa.

Thorn flower mantis

The prickly flower mantis (Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii) is about 3-5cm long, distributed in sub-Saharan areas, southern and eastern Africa. Adults of this species have a characteristic spiny structure on the underside of the abdomen. They come in a variety of colors, usually light green, but can also be yellow, pink or red. When they mature, they produce patches of color that form a shape like a pair of yellow eyes.

They are one of the killer mantis species, with lightning-fast reflexes. When threatened, the spiny flower mantis will lift its wings and open its “eyes”. The main food of the prickly flower mantis is butterflies and flies. This species cannot live in too wet environments because it is easily poisoned. You can identify adult males and females by comparing the length of their wings. The female’s wings only reach the abdomen, while the male’s wings extend beyond the abdomen. The male’s whiskers are longer and thicker than the female’s.