Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

Lichen Camo

A bit of lichen?
Yes, attached to the back of this green lacewing larva. You can tell because the lichen is 1) moving, and 2) much paler than the living lichen on the tree.
Top and underside view of this one, too. These are quite a challenge to photograph. Over the weekend, before the temperature plunged, I saw six of these, more than I had ever seen before. Leucochrysa genus, iNaturalist suggests.
My dearheart first pointed one of these nearly-hidden gems out to me.

mthew

3 responses to “Lichen Camo”

  1. Charles McAlexander

    New one on me. Never heard of this behavior in insects. Whodathunkit/

    Reply
  2. ellenbrys

    These remind me of spider crabs who decorate their shell with bits of seaweed to blend in.
    Happy New Year to you your lichen-loving partner!

    Reply
  3. elwnyc

    I’ve been surprised to learn about this kind of “disguise” behavior. I’ve seen a number of pictures recently of bagworms on an insect-identification site.

    Reply

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