Insects on High
Photograph courtesy Jürgen Schmidl, University of ErlangenAfter an exhaustive search for the creepy crawlies living in a small patch of Panama's rain forest, researchers have discovered that the entire 6,000-hectare forest could harbor up to 25,000 arthropod species.
Dawn Frame and Alexey Tishechkin, researchers with Project IBISCA-Panama—supported by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute—stand in a crane gondola so that they can capture insects feeding on flowers in the forest canopy.
Published December 14, 2012
Open “Eyes”
Photograph by Darlyne A. Murawski, National GeographicAn Io moth—known for the false "eyes" located on its hind wings—is one of the many species identified by scientists during a project spanning nearly a decade.
Published December 14, 2012
Ant Mimic
Photograph by Christian Ziegler, National GeographicA broad-headed Hyalymenus nymph (right), mimics its ant neighbors (left) while visiting a flower. By looking like an aggressive ant that can sting attackers, the harmless nymph tricks predators into leaving it alone. Mimicry is a type of camouflage and occurs throughout the animal kingdom. ("Art of Deception": Can you find the animals hidden in these photos?)
Published December 14, 2012
Foggy With a Chance of Bugs
Photograph courtesy Roger Le Guen, PanacocoResearcher Jürgen Schmidl fogs the rain forest understory in an attempt to collect insects in the vegetation. Some techniques use chemicals that stun the insects, causing them to rain down on sheets laid out to catch them.
Published December 14, 2012
Deceptive Defense
Photograph by Christian Ziegler, National GeographicNormally, saw-nosed plant hoppers try to keep a low profile. Blending in with tree bark offers some protection from predators. But when their cover is blown, plant hoppers have a second line of defense: Flashing the red spots hidden under their wings gives the impression that the eyes of a much larger animal are staring back.
Published December 14, 2012
Brown on the Ground
Photograph courtesy Thomas Martin, Jean-Philippe Sobczak, and Hendrik Dietz, T.U. MunichAlthough some beetles are famous for their metallic jewel tones, this scarab beetle (Megasoma elephas), also known as an elephant beetle, is covered in brownish yellow hairs. This scarab beetle species flaunts itself in other ways—males sport a horn that they use in fights with other males for mating rights.
Published December 14, 2012
Bubbling Up
Photograph courtesy Maurice Leponce, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural SciencesResearcher Maurice Leponce floats above the San Lorenzo forest canopy on the Canopy Bubble.
Published December 14, 2012
Nighttime Snack
Photograph by Christian Ziegler, National GeographicAfricanized honeybees visit an Ochroma flower just after sunset, looking for some nectar. (Late-night nectar binge: See pictures of animals caught in the act.)
Published December 14, 2012
Red Flags
Photograph by Christian Ziegler, National GeographicA flat-footed bug uses flashy red "flags" on its hind limbs to distract potential predators, such as birds. By placing attractive lures away from vital areas such as the head, the insect ensures a striking predator will miss the important bits.
Published December 14, 2012
Photograph by Annie Griffiths Belt, National Geographic
Published December 14, 2012
$'+ doc.ngstore_price_t +'';
html += ' $'+ doc.ngstore_saleprice_t +'';
} else {
html += ' $'+ doc.ngstore_price_t +'';
}
html += '
$("#ecom_43331 ul.ecommerce_all_img").append(html);
o.totItems++;
}// end for loop
} // end if data.response.numFound != 0
if(o.totItems != o.maxItems){
if(o.defaultItems.length > 0){
o.getItemByID(o.defaultItems.shift());
} else if(o.isSearchPage && !o.searchComplete){
o.doSearchPage();
} else if(!o.searchComplete) {
o.byID = false;
o.doSearch();
}
}// end if
}// end parseResults function
o.trim = function(str) {
return str.replace(/^\s\s*/, '').replace(/\s\s*$/, '');
}
o.doSearchPage = function(){
o.byID = false;
var tempSearch = window.location.search;
var searchTerms ="default";
var temp;
if( tempSearch.substr(0,7) == "?search"){
temp = tempSearch.substr(7).split("&");
searchTerms = temp[0];
} else {
temp = tempSearch.split("&");
for(var j=0;j 0){
o.getItemByID(o.defaultItems.shift());
} else if(o.isSearchPage){
o.doSearchPage();
} else {
o.doSearch();
}
}// end init function
}// end ecommerce object
var store_43331 = new ecommerce_43331();
store_43331.init();
