Pitbull katydid (Lirometopum coronatum) from Costa Rica

Grass mantis (Epitenodera sp.) from Mozambique

Pygmy Mt. Gorongosa chameleons (Rhampholeon gorongosae) - a mother with her baby

Stag beetle (Cyclommatus eximus) from Papua New Guinea

Goliath beetle (Goliathus regius) from Guinea, one of the largest beetles in the world

The mass spawning of Atlantic horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) is one of the greatest spectacles of the natural world. Each year hundreds of thousands of these animals come ashore along the East Coast of the US to lay billions of eggs in the sand. This behavior helps avoid predation on eggs by fish, but exposes them to birds. I took this photo on a beach of the Delaware Bay.

The eye of Papuan forest dragon (Hypsilurus dilophus)

Yoda bat (Nyctimene sp.) from Papua New Guinea

Red and black katydid (Plastocorypha vandicana) from Guinea, West Africa

Cryptically colored moth on fallen leaves, Mozambique

A mother with her daughter – praying mantids (Taumantis sp.) from Zambia

A queen of the armored ant (Polyrchahis armata) in a defensive posture.

Satanic gecko (Uroplatus phantasticus) from Madagascar.

Leaf-tailed gecko (Uroplatus fimbriatus) from Madagascar.

Deer fly (Catachlorops fulmineus) from Costa Rica

Quiver tree (Aloe dichotoma) from South Africa

Giant leaf katydid (Celidophylla albimacula) is a common but rarely seen inhabitant of Central American rainforests. This insect is nearly the size of the palm of a human hand, but so perfectly adapted to its environment that until 1990’s only three individuals of this species were known. I spotted this female sitting on a leaf of a cycad in the Brabilla National Park in Costa Rica.

Leaf-cutter ants (Atta cephalotes) from Costa Rica

Vargas’ katydid (Podacanhtophorus vargasi) is a small, cryptic insect that spends its days hidden on the underside of leaves, perfectly blending into its environment. The white spot on its body breaks up its silhouette, making it even more difficult to recognize by predators. I was the discoverer of this species, and named it after a friend of mine who helped me in my work on Costa Rican insects. This individual was photographed in Tapanti National Park near San Jose, Costa Rica.

Peacock katydid (Pterochroza ocellata) has an extra trick up its sleeve - even if a predator sees through its perfect, leaf-like camouflage, the katydid can open its wings and flash a pair of big, fake eyes, a behavior that is almost guaranteed to scare an inexperienced bird or lizard.

Lichen-mimicking praying mantis (Pseudacanthops sp.) from Guyana

Sylvan katydid (Mustius afzelii) from Ghana

Devil mantis (Idolomantis diabolica) from East Africa

Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) from Fernandina, Galapagos Islands

European praying mantis (Mantis religiosa) in my garden

Magnolia flower (Magnolia tripetala)

Female of fork-tailed katydid (Scudderia furcata) laying eggs in a leaf, Massachusetts

Fern leaves, Massachusetts

Red dunes of the Namib Desert, Namibia

Armored cricket or Koringkriek is actually a katydid ((family Tettigoniidae, subfamily Hetrodinae). All species of Hetrodinae have tiny wings, completely hidden under their large, spiny pronotum. Few animals eat these insects, which defend themselves by squirting bitter tasting blood from pores on their legs and thorax at attackers. Armored crickets feed mostly on plants but occassionally turn into cannibals. Acanthoproctus cervinus is common in dry habitats of the Cape; the front edge of its pronotum sports large "horns" and an additional "horn" is present on the head.

Giant predatory katydid (Clonia melanoptera) from South Africa

Cloud forest, Papua New Guinea

Pink-eyed katydid (Caedicia sp.) from Papua New Guinea

A portrait of Costa Rican katydid (Hyperphrona irregularis)

Cape praying mantis (Hemiempusa capensis) from South Africa devouring a grasshopper

Tiger spider (Argiope savignyi) from Costa Rica with a freshly caught beetle

Marine iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus mertensi) from Santiago, Galapagos Islands

A portrait of Helmeted iguana (Corytophanes cristatus) from Costa Rica

Grass praying mantis (Hoplocorypha sp.) from Botswana

Coconut crab (Birgus latro) from Solomon Islands

Red Howler monkeys (Alouatta seniculus) from Venezuela

Coconut crab (Birgus latro) climbing down from a palm tree, Solomon Islands

Horseshoe crabs spawning during full moon on the shores of Delaware Bay

A portrait of a female Chinese mantis (Tenodera parasinensis)

These massive spiders can reach the leg span of 30 cm and weigh up to 170 g. Despite their ferocious appearance they are rather harmless – their first line of defense are urticating hair, and employ the 2 cm-long fangs only as the last resort.