Carnivorous katydid

Images of undisturbed subjects in their natural environment. All subject types.

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Lou Jost
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Joined: Fri Sep 04, 2015 7:03 am
Location: Ecuador
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Carnivorous katydid

Post by Lou Jost »

I spent a day in our Rio Anzu Reserve a few weeks ago. That forest is like the Serengeti in miniature. This is another of the amazing things I found there, a carnivorous katydid devouring a stick insect while another stick insect sits nearby, and while little "vulture" flies sneak underneath the katydid and suck some of the juices coming from the carcass.
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The above image is a stack of two pictures.

I think sometimes it is nice to have part of an image out-of-focus, for example this picture is more menacing with the out-of-focus predator than it would have been with everything equally sharp:
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I initially thought the two stick insects were a mated pair of a sexually dimorphic species, since the live one just stayed there alongside the half-eaten one. After looking at the photos, though, I think that can't be right. They are so different that I think they must be different species. Any thoughts?
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Pictures are all of unmolested wild creatures, with a handheld Panasonic FZ300, sometimes with a Raynox M-150 or M250 close-up lens.

naturepics43
Posts: 88
Joined: Mon May 11, 2015 9:21 pm
Location: Hocking County, Ohio , USA

Post by naturepics43 »

Very nice series. Well done! As to your question, I would say they wee different species.

Lou Jost
Posts: 5943
Joined: Fri Sep 04, 2015 7:03 am
Location: Ecuador
Contact:

Post by Lou Jost »

Thanks! You can see more things from that day at:
https://ecomingafoundation.wordpress.co ... u-reserve/

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