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Scorpion

20mm body | July 9, 2011 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil

I spotted this scorpion on the trail just after dark. Somehow I spooked it and it ran for cover. When I removed the leaf it had hidden under, it was curled up as shown below.

Hiding under a leaf

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Katydid

January 21, 2011 | Finca La Isla, Limon Province, Costa Rica

If not for the long antennae, this large katydid could easily be mistaken for a grasshopper.

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Large Bark Katydid

75mm | January 19, 2011

Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

This large katydid was trying to remain inconspicuous on the side a tree. With a body three inches long and antennae over twice that, it was difficult to miss. I considered making this a crypsis challenge, but it seemed too easy.

In the second photo, it’s in the lower right corner.

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Identification Challenge #5 Reveal

As usual, Ted C. MacRae was right on all counts for this challenge:

January 28, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

I thought perhaps the swept-back antenna across the bottom third of the photo might throw people off. Not so.

Here’s a better shot of the katydid which was cooperative enough to allow some good closeups. This should put all the body parts shown above in context.

Katydid

My sister guessed a dragonfly via a Facebook comment. I can see the resemblance so not a bad guess.

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Crypsis Challenge #4 Reveal

Hopefully it didn’t take more than a few seconds to spot the katydid in this image.

January 27, 2010 | Caraça Natural Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

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