Spiny Devil Katydid (Panacanthus cuspidatus) nymph on rainforest leaf

The Peruvian rainforest is full of katydids. Most of the ones I saw were leaf mimics, but this species is more of a monster mimic.

comments (6)

John Sullivan

Lion

A photo of a nymph transforming into an adult is here:
Posted 9 years ago

Claire Hamilton

Lion

Oh my goodness, a monster indeed, really awesome! Posted 9 years ago

Ferdy Christant

Lion

This stuff just makes my day, the weirder the better! Posted 9 years ago
1. John Sullivan
  
  Lion
  
  I have a couple of really nice leaf-mimic mantids from this area, but I could only identify them to the genus level. Maybe I should post them here anyway. Posted 9 years ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    By all means do, identification is not mandatory, the only thing "mandatory" or desirable is that one makes an effort. In some cases, it's just not possible to bring it to the species level. In that case, we still have the image to enjoy, so don't hold back :) Posted 9 years ago

John Sullivan

Lion

OK, you talked me into it. Here are my two nice leaf-mimic mantids from this area:

http://www.jungledragon.com/image/35760
http://www.jungledragon.com/image/35761 Posted 9 years ago

The Spiny Devil Katydid

Panacanthus cuspidatus is one of the conehead katydids, all of which have a spike sticking up from the tops of the heads. In this case, the spike is a huge, three-pointed red horn. The rest of the head and the legs are also covered by spines. It uses its extremely powerful jaws to feed on forest seeds and fruits. Unlike most katydids, this one can easily break human skin with its bite.

Info 2 0

Similar species: Grasshoppers And Crickets

Species identified by John Sullivan