[Adam Khor]

Insect beauty/bizarreness/awesomeness never runs out, so I thought it would be cool to start this thread as a gallery of cool-looking insects and bugs (the crazier the better). I'll start.

Wattle Hopper

Cross-eyed planthopper

South American Dead Leaf Mantis

Eupanacra elegantulus Hawk Moth Caterpillar

Robber Fly

Acraga coa caterpillar

Acraga coa adult moth

Wattle Cup Caterpillar

False Eye Lantern Bug

Dolatettix

Peacock Katydid

Hawaiian Happy Face Spider

Spun glass caterpillar

Owl Moth Caterpillar

Domino Beetles

[Adam Khor]

More:

Bloody Nose Beetle



Shield Mantis



Lantern Fly



Abbott's Sphinx caterpillar



Spiny Orb Weaver



Leafhopper (species?)



Violin Mantis



Elephant Weevil



Horseshoe Tree Hopper



Peacock Fly



Ball-bearing leafhopper



Tortoise beetle



Giraffe Weevil



Eucharitid wasp



Viper caterpillar (Hemeroplanes)

[aidoh]

Scale insects are really weird too. They're essentially something like a shield-bug or aphid but their anatomy is really tough to figure out.

[Adam Khor]

Originally Posted by aidoh

Scale insects are really weird too. They're essentially something like a shield-bug or aphid but their anatomy is really tough to figure out.

Cool. Looks kinda like dry sugar or something...

Here's a few more:

Stalk-eyed fly:



Conehead mantis:



Mettalic mantis:



Candy-striped leafhopper



Another lanternfly:



Trilobite beetle:



Dinosaur bug (also known as wheel bug)



And probably my favorite mantis, the Idolomantis diabolica:

[Be like Nutella]

how is the Cone Head Mantis NOT the inspiration for those things from Star Ship Troopers or star wars... those ones that stab the feet down like spears in the Colosseum part... gotta be them right

[Adam Khor]

Originally Posted by Be like Nutella

how is the Cone Head Mantis NOT the inspiration for those things from Star Ship Troopers or star wars... those ones that stab the feet down like spears in the Colosseum part... gotta be them right

IIRC, George Lucas wanted that creature to look like a cross between a mantis and a Velociraptor, so yes