The Strangest Camouflage in the World
Thu, Nov 20, 2008
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Image: MOOSE
Insects typically do not stand out. Something to do with it being their one way ticket to certain extinction, generally. A fact that just adds to the mystique of the extremely rare pink katydid.
What is perhaps strangest about this species is where they are turning up; the majority of pink katydid images are attributed to the most untropical places such as Osaka and the American Midwest. Speculation is that their unusual color is caused by the genetic condition erythrism, which denotes an unusual red pigmentation – if you’ve seen the ginger kids episode of South Park, you’ll understand.
Image: glovell2008
Though remarkably pretty and startling, one must wonder just what purpose this color scheme serves. It’s certainly not the best camouflage, not in the places they are being found, so must surely result in untimely death more often than not. It also makes them seem less threatening, unless their sparring partners have a penchant for pink. And katydids aren’t exactly the bug world’s equivalent of grizzly bears to begin with, so it’s a wonder what nature was thinking when she came up with this one.
Image: ricmcarthur
The only probable theory that can be deduced from this display of shocking color is that katydids are taking a few tips from the Kittens’ Species Survival Guide and are trying to subdue their prey, and humanity, by evolving overwhelming cuteness.
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November 21st, 2008 at 12:06 am
I don’t buy it. First, a hungry predator will not allow her chicks to starve in order to spare a cute insect. Second, there are many garishly decorated species for whom the coloring advertises toxicity, which is not addressed above. Third, the coloring is mighty close to that of many showy flowers, and I note that the first photo shows a spray of flower buds.
November 21st, 2008 at 12:11 am
I loved this sentence “The only probable theory that can be deduced from this display of shocking color is that katydids are taking a few tips from the Kittens’ Species Survival Guide and are trying to subdue their prey, and humanity, by evolving overwhelming cuteness.” It’s so true… I don’t like bugs, but these ones sure look cute!
November 22nd, 2008 at 5:45 am
This could be like something to do with what its common predator is able to see. For example gazelle can only see in black and white, making the leopard surprisingly hard to spot in Savannah. This could have a similar thing with the red end of the visible spectrum. I doubt it though, as I’d imagine they wouldn’t be able to see blue rather than red.
November 22nd, 2008 at 7:28 am
I believe the bright clour is to make predators think they are poisonous
November 22nd, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Natural predators don’t care for cute. In a world where it’s eat or be eaten, cute is for pansies.
Either this is the natural camouflage for the flowers where these insects natively live amongst or it’s a signal to say “I’m extremely poisonous. Do you feel lucky, punk?” Even if they were not poisonous, brightly colored insects that do not hide themselves send out a clear signal to the world around them “I know you can see me and I don’t care two cents about it.” Predators know what it means and don’t even try to attack them.
November 25th, 2008 at 12:03 am
Maybe their largest predator has trouble with the color pink or confuses it with another less tasty species, ie., poisonous!
November 25th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Do some pedators see in the infrared? What color would it be then?
November 27th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Simple.
Insects and birds do not see in the same colour as we do. Thus, we see the katydid as being pink against a green leaf, but possible predators would see them both as the same colour, thus hiding the katydid from them.
December 13th, 2008 at 1:26 am
Most likely very poisonous and sporting warning coloration. There are grasshoppers in Africa that are bright red. Look at this one. They make an animal vomit after eating it, so it only takes eating one to learn.
http://flickr.com/photos/gabelittle/307607462/
December 22nd, 2008 at 4:38 am
Very few animals see color nearly as well as we do. We don’t have the largest range of wavelengths that we can see, but we do see color like few others. Usually when trying to figure out patterns and such, it makes more sense to look at them in black and white, and it looks to me like the tone is similar, even if the hue isn’t.
December 30th, 2008 at 7:52 am
The trait could have two possible origins. First, as many of you have already suggested, it could be aposematic coloring. Aposematic coloring are bright colors that serve as warnings to predators to stay away. Generally they are associated with poison (see poison arrow frogs, coral snakes and monarch butterflies), but this takes long bouts of evolution for both the poison and coloration to evolve. So long in fact, that mimics can coevolve (see kingsnakes and viceroy butterflies). It is unlikely that this is a separate species of katydid that is both pink and brightly colored.
The cute idea was a joke.
The second, and much more likely, idea that has already been mentioned is that this is a erythric form of the normal katydids. Erythrisms, melanisms and albinisms are actually do occur in many species (snakes, lizards, rodents, primates, passerine birds and even humans) and can even be selected for to make weird “breeds” of captive bred pets. In nature, these traits are generally not seen frequently because they are thought to put the organism at a significant disadvantage (by increasing its chances of being eaten!). Sometimes however this mutation can occur and result in speciation (see the pink pigeons of Mauritius and Reunion). Whoever photographed this katydid was lucky indeed to find them! Maybe the mutations are on the rise!
January 29th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
What if they just figured out a way to appear completey unedible to predators? Now the birds are like “WTF some asshole’s trying to feed us with half finished plastic fake crap”.
Or maybe it’s just that evolution let them develop a mating wish that is way stronger than the urge for survival. “I’d rather burn out than fade away” attitude quickly draws females and if you’re really cool, you get laid before a pigeon picks your head off.
January 30th, 2009 at 4:45 am
PHOTO SHOPPED!!! Look at the shading and color inconsistencies.
January 31st, 2009 at 12:51 am
Photoshopped!
May 6th, 2009 at 8:19 am
i found one of theese guys hiding in a pink flower, i thought its abit bizarre as i live in new zealand :) freaky.
i have a picture of it…
http://grufsickles.deviantart.com/art/pink-121345082
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:44 am
All think that it is a flower
August 2nd, 2009 at 8:09 am
Erythrism
August 13th, 2009 at 6:04 am
I use live insect traps in my garden to keep pests down. I have had a few of these bright pink ones in the traps over the last couple of years. Every morning I take the traps to the back corner of the yard and dump them out for the flock of birds that are waiting for a handout. They love slugs. These birds mean business. If I don’t give them something every morning they will shit all over my lawn furniture. Anyway, they will eat anything, but they won’t touch the bright pink katydids. I figured that the katydids must have been pressured into that coloration by predation, but I don’t know of anything else in this area that uses those warning colors. Maybe it is something else in their migration path? Interesting.
August 13th, 2009 at 7:25 am
albino insect?
August 13th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
That is amazing!
September 29th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Here is an article about Pink Katydids: http://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/agcomm/newscolumns/archives/OSL/2009/September/090924OSL.html