Diaethrea eluina, a butterfly with a nearly perfect “88” on its inner wings.
Sometimes the second “8” varies enough to resemble 9, 0, 6, p, or b.
Insect Camouflage
This might be some of the most impressive camouflage I’ve ever seen. Looks like the caterpillar of Euthalia aconthea gurda, here it is in the open:
I’ve got a new article up on Cracked
“6 Insect Predators That Go Out of Their Way to be Evil”
As usual, the Cracked editorial played up the “horror” and “disgust” humor, but I’m sure most of you know by now that I think every single thing in the article is adorable, gorgeous and enriches the world by existing. Us Cracked contributors are just expected to write “in character” as essentially a bunch of jackasses.
I can’t seem to find the name, but this rare and exotic fly preys on butterflies and can be easily mistaken for one as it flutters on its incredibly massive, beautiful black wings.
IT’S FLYDAY AGAIN
Long overlooked by the scientific community, the transparent wings of insects such as flies and wasps actually have elaborate color patterns visible when photographed against a black background - no special equipment necessary - which are unique to each species like the colors of a butterfly.
Look at this fucking asshole caterpillar
I featured these in this article but the animations are a far better explanation. They’re among several Hawaiian caterpillars which evolved to fill a predatory niche, unlike anywhere else in the world!
How can anyone like butterflies so much more than moths? Moths are bunny-eared, dove-faced flying powderpuffs.
If you simply must uphold a complete loathing of mosquitoes, however, you might at least want to make an exception for species like Toxorhynchites rutilus, known as the “elephant mosquito” for its hooked proboscis. This is the largest mosquito in the world, but absolutely never feeds on blood. As adults, they’re strict nectar feeders, but as aquatic larvae, they voraciously devour the larvae of other mosquitoes! They could be all-natural mosquito control, if not for the fact that the babies will eventually turn to one another when there’s no other prey available, leaving only a few to mature and breed.
