Insect camouflage of the family Menbracidae

2011/05/12 Kortabitarte Egiguren, Irati - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Eboluzioa
• Zoologia

The flying insects of the trees of the Menbracidae family are masters of mimicry thanks to a structure similar to a large hull. These structures are actually fused wings, and researchers from the French institute IBDML and the CNRS center have seen these "wings" grow from the first segment of the chest. This is very curious, since in more than 300 million years of evolution experts have not seen it in any other insect. In the rest of insects the wings grow from the second and third segment of the chest, never from the first.

These insects of the family Menbracidae are known for this hull structure. This structure can be of great color, size and shape, allowing the animal to camouflage the environment or perform a more aggressive appearance, among other things.

Image courtesy of: Copyright Nicolas Gompel