Giant Leaf Insect

By far one of the coolest bugs at the Butterfly Pavilion—a Giant Leaf Insect (Phyllium giganteum).

Females can be brown or green and grow up to five inches long. I found a brown-colored leaf bug mimicking a leaf blowing in the wind on youtube.com here.

The one I photographed below did the same dance inside a wind-free terrarium. Isn’t it neat how the edges of its body replicate the decay in a real leaf?

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

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