Mother Nature produces some interesting specimens that many people never see, especially those who live in sheltered lives surrounded by urban environments.
One man came across something quite strange while walking around the hills of Australia. A rare insect called a mountain katydid greeted him with an interesting display. The bug was quite large, and it appeared much like a spider crossed with a cricket or beetle of some sort.
The curious man reached out and poked the large bug on its rough outer shell, and he was surprised by its response. The katydid has a defense mechanism that it unleashes when it is threatened, but it isn’t dangerous to people.
The mechanism is entirely visual, so the insect raises its flightless wings to reveal a colorful underlying layer of protective signals. There are numerous red, black, white, and blue stripes that create a vivid pattern under the flat, dull wings.
During the display, the insect attempts to escape by walking quickly in the opposite direction that it aims its display. The man filming the katydid continues to follow the bug and film its reaction to him.
A while later, the man finds a second katydid and pokes it in a similar way, expecting a similar reaction. He did get to see the bright display, but the bug didn’t run away.
Instead, it stayed put and showed its display as widely as possible to help scare away any predators. After a brief time defending itself, the bug scurried away to shelter.
