[Amazing] 25 Stunningly Beautiful Insects
Do you like insects? Yes, we know – you probably don’t. There are not many people who consider insects their favorite animals, and we can understand that. There are many nasty creatures within this class of invertebrates including some of the world’s most hated, feared, and repellent vermin such as cockroaches, mosquitoes, earwigs, termites etc. In fact, we recently dedicated an entire post to these poor creatures as we published a list with these 25 Most Hated Insects Ever Known To Man. Fortunately, not every insect species is so detestable and unpleasant to look at. Out of more than a million of described insect species, there are also many of those who are actually beautiful, interesting, and even cute, and this is exactly what our post today will be about. As you will see in this post with 25 of the world’s most beautiful insects, some insects can be surprisingly beautiful, and we all should thank Mother Nature for that. From incredibly colored and shaped grasshoppers, moths, butterflies, and bugs to the stunningly beautiful orchid mantis and the golden birdwing, we are glad to present you with these 25 Stunningly Beautiful Insects.
Sunset Moth
Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: Frank Vassen http://ift.tt/2dxYhBa
Endemic to Madagascar, the sunset moth is a large day-flying moth famous for its strikingly beautiful coloration. Very popular among collectors, the moth is considered one of the most impressive and appealing-looking insects on the planet.
Western Horse Lubber Grasshopper
Source: en.wikipedia.org, Image: http://ift.tt/2dxXuQS
The western horse lubber grasshopper is a large grasshopper species found in the arid lower Sonoran life zone of the southwestern US and Northern Mexico. The species is unique in using its black coloration to thermoregulate and in being chemically defended. The aposematic coloration warns its predators of its unpalatability.
Blue Dasher
Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: John Flannery via http://ift.tt/2dxZIzs
Commonly distributed in the US and Canada, the blue dasher is a vividly colored dragonfly of the skimmer family. Found by ponds, lakes, marshes, and bogs, these beautiful dragonflies are actually fierce predators, feeding on other flying insects.
Indian Flower Mantis
Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: Arian Suresh via http://ift.tt/2dxXrEr
Also known as the jeweled flower mantis, the Indian flower mantis is a species of praying mantis native to Asia. Males grow to about 38 mm (1.5 inch) and females are slightly larger. This mantis makes an easy pet with up to 90% survival rate among nymphs.
Ulysses Butterfly
Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: commons.wikimedia.org
The Ulysses butterfly is a large, beautifully colored swallowtail butterfly with a wingspan of up to 105 mm (4.13 inch). Name after the Greek hero Odysseus (Ulysses), the butterfly is most common in Australia where it is even used as an emblem for tourism.
Glasswinged Butterfly
Source and image: en.wikipedia.org
Mainly found in Central and South America, the glasswinged butterfly is a brush-footed butterfly famous for its transparent wings that can be as long as 61 mm (2.4 in). The tissue between the veins of its wings looks like glass, as it lacks the colored scales found in other butterflies.
Hummingbird Moth
Source and image: en.wikipedia.org
Known for its remarkable coloration, the hummingbird moth is visually very similar to an actual hummingbird. The moth’s prolonged proboscis even mimics the bird’s beak. The hummingbird hawk-moth is distributed throughout the northern Old World from Portugal to Japan but is resident only in warmer climates.
Monarch Caterpillar
Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: pixabay.org
The monarch butterfly is one of the most familiar and beautiful butterflies in the world, but it actually might be even more stunning in its larva phase. The vividly colored caterpillar goes through five major, distinct stages of growth and after each one, it molts.
Japanese Jewel Beetle
Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: opencage.info
Known as “tamamushi” in Japanese, the Japanese jewel beetle is a large metallic wood-boring beetle native to Japan. It is typically found in woods or forests during summer under the strong sunshine and can grow between 30 – 41 mm (1.2–1.6 in) in length.
If you think this beetle is beautiful, wait until you see number 12!
Silkworm
Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: Nikita via http://ift.tt/2d5fuPL
The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of the domesticated silk moth. It is an economically important insect, being a primary producer of silk. Domestic silk moths are closely dependent on humans for reproduction, as a result of millennia of selective breeding.
Flower Chafer
Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: Graham Winterflood via http://ift.tt/2d5eSJZ
Flower chafers are a group of scarab beetles who visit flowers for pollen and nectar, or to browse on the petals. There are around 4,000 species of these beetles, many of them still undescribed. The electrically green species featured in the image is native to Australia.
Luzon Peacock Swallowtail
Source and image: en.wikipedia.org
Endemic to the Philippines, the Luzon peacock swallowtail is a large, vividly colored butterfly species that was discovered in 1965. Unfortunately, its appealing appearance has caused this butterfly to be endangered as over-collection is a major threat to it.
Picasso Bug
Source and image: en.wikipedia.org
Also known as the Zulu Hud bug, the Picasso bug can reach a length of about 8 mm (0.31 in). Its basic color is green, with eleven ring-shaped spots on the elytra. The colors and the design of these bugs represent a warning to predators. They also emit a noxious odor when disturbed.
Golden Tortoise Beetle
Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: Katja Schulz via http://ift.tt/2d5hzuW
Native to the Americas, the golden tortoise beetle is a species of beetle in the leaf beetle family. The beetle consumes foliage of bindweeds, morning glories, and sweet potato. It is variable in color from reddish-brown with black spots through gold, and it is often metallic, earning it the nickname, “the goldbug.”
Dryandra Moth Caterpillar
Source and image: en.wikipedia.org
Found in shrubs of Western Australia, the Dryandra moth is a species of moth that is considered to be the sole member of the family Carthaeidae. The larva of this species is grey on the dorsal side and yellow on the ventral side with clear markings resembling eyes.
Luna Moth
Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: commons.wikimedia.org
One of the largest moths in the US, the Luna moth has a wingspan of up to 114 mm (4.5 in). This lime-green moth is found from east of the Great Plains to northern Mexico and from Saskatchewan eastward to Nova Scotia in Canada but there have been sightings of the species as far south as in central Florida.
Orchid Mantis
Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: Kars Alfring via flickr.com
Native to rain forests of Southeast Asia, the orchid mantis is characterized by brilliant coloring and a structure finely adapted for camouflage, mimicking parts of the orchid flower. The mantis can also change its color between pink and brown, according to the color of the background.
Leaf Hopper
Source and image: en.wikipedia.org
Leaf hoppers are plant feeders that suck plant sap from grass, shrubs, or trees. They are distributed all over the world, constituting the second-largest hemipteran family, with at least 20,000 described species. The beautifully colored species featured in the photo is Eupteryx Aurata.
Clipper Butterfly
Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: pixabay.com
The clipper butterfly is a genus of butterflies found in Southeast Asia. Known for their impressive coloration and ornate patterns, these butterflies are widespread in countries such as Burma, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.
Orchid Bee
Source and image: en.wikipedia.org
Also known as Euglossine bees, orchid bees are the only group of corbiculate bees whose non-parasitic members do not all possess eusocial behavior. Occurring exclusively in South or Central America, they are characterized by brilliant metallic coloration, primarily green, gold, and blue.
Ladybug
Source and image: en.wikipedia.org
Widespread almost all over the world, the ladybug (also known as ladybird or ladybeetle) is a small beetle easily recognizable by its black spots on its wing covers. Most ladybugs are red but they can be also yellow or orange. More than 6,000 ladybug species have been discovered and described.
Golden Birdwing
Source and image: en.wikipedia.org
The golden birdwing is a large, colorful butterfly belonging to the swallowtail family. Found in most Southeastern Asian countries, it is one of the largest butterflies in the world with a wingspan reaching up to 16 cm (6.3 in).
Plant Hopper
Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: pixabay.com
Plant hoppers are known for their remarkable resemblance to leaves, sticks and other features of their natural environment. There are more than 12,500 plant hopper species described worldwide, ranging from inconspicuous to extremely colorful and bizarrely shaped.
Owl Moth
Source and image: en.wikipedia.org
Scientifically known as Brahmaea Hearseyi, the owl moth is a species of large moth found in some parts of Burma, China, and the Philippines. With a wingspan measuring up to 200 mm (7.9 inch), the owl moth is one of the largest moth species in the world.
Cecropia Moth Caterpillar
Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: http://ift.tt/2d5f4ZR
The Cecropia Moth is North America’s largest native moth. Females with a wingspan of 160 mm (6 inch) or even more have been documented. The larvae of these moths are most commonly found on maple trees, but they can also feed on cherry and birch trees. They have distinctive hairy tubercles all over their body.
