Biodiversity Encyclopedia: Stick Insects – Red Hidden Hawkfly: Do You See Who I Look Like?

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is going to introduce

Crickets & Mantises – Red Hidden Hawkfly

Biodiversity EncyclopediaCrickets & Mantises – Red Hidden Hawkfly: Do you see who I look like?

Red Hidden Hawkfly

Catacanthus incarnates

Crickets & Mantises, Insect Class, Hemiptera, Hawkmoth Family. They mostly live in tropical rainforests with higher temperatures and humidity. Photo taken in West Pu'an, Yunnan.

Red Hidden Hawkfly is an incomplete metamorphosing insect, and it only goes through three stages in its life: egg, nymph, and adult. Among them, the nymphs and adults look almost the same, the difference is that the adults have wings and their color is also changed. Their mouthparts are like a hollow needle used for injection, when eating, they will insert their mouthparts into plants to suck nutrients.

The most special thing about Red Hidden Hawkfly is that it looks exactly like a human face, the black membranous wings are like 'hair', the two elliptical black spots on the back are 'eyes', and the horizontal lines between the thorax and abdomen resemble a human mouth. Therefore, it is also called 'Hawkfly'. However, who does it look like is a matter of opinion. Some say it looks like Guan Gong, some say it looks like Chow Yun-fat, and some say it looks like Native Americans. What do you think?

Don't think they look 'human-like', but when they are in danger, they can quickly release foul-smelling gas to drive away predators. Therefore, they are 'notorious' for their bad smell.

Most insects in the Hawkmoth Family are herbivorous insects, but there are some exceptions, such as the Predator Hawkmoth (also known as the Assassin Bug), the Negative Bug (), and the Cone Hawkmoth, which feed on blood. The American Cone Hawkmoth is the intermediate host and main carrier of American Coneworm Disease. When the American Cone Hawkmoth sucks human blood, the Coneworm enters the human body tissues. When it reaches a certain number, it will cause myocarditis, encephalitis, and hepatosplenomegaly. In 2018, the Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention captured Cone Hawkmoths, showing the importance of the American Cone Hawkmoth and American Coneworm Disease.

Biodiversity EncyclopediaCrickets & Mantises – Red Hidden Hawkfly: Do you see who I look like?

Wayal, an ecological photographer. He won the International Garden Photographer Award for four consecutive years and won the first prize for wild plants and animals at the 2018 China Ecological Photography Competition.

Let's review the knowledge points of the Biodiversity Encyclopedia in the previous issues!

The 'Ranger' of the Forest – Crickets & Mantises – Malaysian Cave Spider

Biodiversity EncyclopediaCrickets & Mantises – Red Hidden Hawkfly: Do you see who I look like?

Building a 'Baby Room' on a Cliff – Crickets & Mantises – White-tailed Pu'an Pheasant

Biodiversity EncyclopediaCrickets & Mantises – Red Hidden Hawkfly: Do you see who I look like?

Beware of Danger! – Crickets & Mantises – Jiangdu Corner Frog

Biodiversity EncyclopediaCrickets & Mantises – Red Hidden Hawkfly: Do you see who I look like?

I'm a Guardian, Not a Sand Guardian – Crickets & Mantises – Great Wall Gecko

Biodiversity EncyclopediaCrickets & Mantises – Red Hidden Hawkfly: Do you see who I look like?

Source: Yunnan Release

Editor: Dani

Responsible Editor: Song Lijin

Producer: Mu Liyi

Channel Director: Du Xiang

Chief Editor: Li Xiaofeng

Editor-in-Chief: Li Qian

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