Costa Rica flying phasmid?
Location: Monteverde, Costa Rica
October 10, 2010 1:31 pm
Hello fine sir.
While my family and I were in Monteverde, Costa Rica this August, among the more more common nocturnal insects were these pretty little green & yellow & red critters. They were about 2 inches long from head to red-spotted rear (with another 2 inches or so of delicate antenna). I would guess that they were phasmids, but they also reminded me of some tree crickets I’ve seen, including the graceful way they flew. Whaddya think?
Signature: John
Hi John,
We are uncertain if this is a Phasmid or an Orthopteran. Perhaps Karl who travels to Costa Rica can supply a response. We will also try to contact Piotr Naskrecki, an expert in Longhorned Orthopterans if he recognizes this species.
Piotr Naskrecki Responds
Hi Daniel,
Definitely a phasmid. It looks like Anthericonia (Pseudophasmatidae), possibly A. anketeschkei, which was recently described from Monteverde.
Cheers,
Piotr
Ed. NOte:
We located an image on Flickr and some on Phasmatodea.com that look quite similar.
Wow, you guys are incredible. Thank you very much! The photos of A. anketeschkei on Phasmatodea.com look precisely like the ones I saw.
Piotr, your book The Smaller Majority is one of my favorite wildlife photography books and an inspiration to me to improve my own camera skills (not to mention spend more time in the wild). I had already used it to identify the fantastical Copiphora rhinoceros that we saw at Sueño Azul resort in Sarapiqui.
Daniel and Piotr, thanks again for taking your time to help the rest of us.
John Sullivan
www.wildherps.com
I will be visiting your paypal link very soon.