Yes, this is a real insect, and yes, it is a lot to take in. This buggy-eyed beast is the spiny devil katydid (Panacanthus cuspidatus), also known as the thorny devil. It wears its characteristic head protrusion like a tiny little crown, and rightly so, because these bizarre insects rule the forest.
Most katydids feed on plants, but not these guys. As omnivores they’ll take what’s going, but are adept hunters that likely use their long spiny legs as a way to trap prey (think: a predatory Jiminy Cricket that had a baby with Mr Tickle, and then spend the rest of the day trying not to think about that).
Although the endless angular spikes make these insects look more than a little threatening, they’re primarily a defensive strategy. When given the option between a marshmallow and a handful of toothpicks, you’d likely opt for the former; and it’s true of wild animals, too, that eating something covered in spines is rarely an enjoyable experience.
The spines may come with the added benefit of making these katydids harder to spot for predators, as they blend in with spiky vegetation – something that comes in handy for a species that’s something of an exhibitionist.
A katydid that really makes you wonder: What *did* Katy do?
Image credit: Bildagentur Zoonar GmbH / Shutterstock.com
When the time comes for the spiny devil to reproduce and make more little devils, a male will clamber to a vantage point and start yelling with his body. I say yelling with his body because, like other katydids, that’s how these insects communicate – by rubbing body parts together to create sound in what’s known as stridulation (something that’s sometimes achieved with a penis).
Their song is pretty impressive; loud enough that it gets the message across to passing females, which is good. It does, however, also attract bats, which is less good for a spiny devil with a different kind of horn. This may explain why a 2004 paper revealed a correlation between spininess and song complexity, as becoming unswallowable could be seen as an evolutionary adaptation to habitually drawing attention to yourself (note to self).
We could go on about the science, but sometimes in life you just need a really, really enthusiastic photographer to give an impassioned first-person perspective from the field. Fortunately, for that we have the wonderful Nick Volpe.
“Wow! This is one of the most insane bugs in the universe – this is the spiny devil katydid and doesn’t it mean business?” Volpe said in an Instagram video. “This is probably the most intimidating looking katydid in the entire world.”
“Look at all those spikes! It is carnivorous and it damn well shows it off. This is absolute royalty amongst katydids in the Amazon, and I am absolutely blessed to see one of the coolest critters in the entire world. Absolute wow!”
Wow indeed.
Source Link: Is The Spiny Devil Katydid The Strangest Insect In The World? You Tell Us
