Dear All
Here is an incredible and rather gruesome example of camouflage that I recently came across. This was on the shore of Lake Victoria, among the buttress roots of a fig tree…
As you can see – there was a small group of strange beings shuffling along on the bark of the tree. A closer look revealed that these insects were dressed up in one of the most bizarre costumes! They were wearing a suit of DEAD ANTS!! Yes, the ‘cloak’ covering the insects’ body is made up of dead ants. These are ants that this Assassin Bug nymph has captured and then glued to its back after killing them and sucking out their body fluids.
Living among the young Assassin Bug nymphs was a single adult, who is likely the mother of some of these young killers. She was brightly coloured, but did not wear a coat of ants.
More from the wonderful (and bizarre) world of insects soon…