In Pictures: Weird crater creatures
Entomologist Professor George McGavin photographed a variety of weird and wonderful creatures while in Papua New Guinea filming for the BBC programme Lost Land of the Volcano. This male jumping spider (Salticidae) has excellent all-round vision...
Two male rhinoceros beetles (Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae, Oryctes sp.), distinguished from the females by their large cephalic horns, jostle each other on a fallen log. The larvae of these beetles attack different palm species including coconut...
The chelicerae and fangs of this male jumping spider are greatly enlarged and almost as long as the rest of the body. It is likely that they are used in courtship rituals...
Ogre-faced spiders (Deinopidae) have a unique prey-capturing technique. Sometimes called net-casting spiders, they hold a net-like web with their legs and drop it over passing prey. This species, in the genus Deinopis, may be undescribed...
A brightly coloured weevil in the genus Eupholus (Curculionidae) may be advertising its unpalatability to predators. Many of these attractive beetles feed on the foliage of vines, which can contain toxins...
Flower chafers (Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae) are often brightly coloured and many species, like this one, are active during the day. They visit flowers to eat pollen and nectar and some will feed on fruit...
The nymph of a giant shield bug (Tessaratomidae Musgraveia sp.) contrasts strongly against the foliage. The three white patches on the abdomen mark the opening from internal stink glands, the secretions of which serve to deter potential predators...
A tangle of slender waxy filaments exuded from their bodies conceal minute whitefly nymphs (Aleyrodidae). The adults of these tiny sap-sucking bugs have opaque white wings.
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