Wednesday 11 January 2017

Stick Grasshopper

Image: Andreas Kay
What do you get when you mix a grasshopper with a stick insect?

A Proscopiid!

Image: Andreas Kay
LOL! It's funny 'cos it's true. Well... it's true, at least.

Proscopiidae is a family of grasshoppers found in the tropical forests of America.

Image: Bernard DUPONT
They're known as Stick Grasshoppers, for obvious reasons. They've clearly taken a leaf out of the stick insect's handbook. Should I say leaf? It was probably a twig.

They're also known as Jumping Sticks, which makes sense since stick insects are also known as walking sticks. While Stick Grasshoppers either have reduced wings or none at all and therefore can't fly, they can still turn pogo stick and leap away from trouble.


They'd rather not have to jump around the place, though. Like a lot of leaf and stick mimics, they walk as if they're powered by nothing more than a light breeze.

Their camouflage comes with a caveat, though...


And it's in the looks department.

Stick Grasshoppers look utterly ABSURD.

Image: Andreas Kay
Those gangly legs...

Image: Geoff Gallice
Those googly eyes...

Image: Matt
Those weird, pointy heads.

It's a whole new way to have eyes on stalks...

Image: Andreas Kay
Turn your whole head into a stalk!

They look like they're falling into a black hole of camouflage...

Image: Andreas Kay
And are getting spaghettified every step of the way.

I sure hope it was worth it.

2 comments:

Lear's Fool said...

We need flying sticks and swimming sticks!

Or maybe a stick themed article. :)

Joseph JG said...

Haha! Those sticks really get around