#moss-and-lichen katydid

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

Moss-and-Lichen Katydid: these katydids are covered in cryptic markings and textures that allow them to blend in with their mossy, lichen-covered habitat, and their wings even mimic the appearance of a twig

The katydids of this genus (Anaphidna) can be found in the rainforests of Central and South America. They have cryptic features that mimic the mossy, lichen-covered environments in which they live -- their bodies are covered in green, brown, and white markings that are accented by bumpy, moss-like features, and their long, slender wings are usually held upward at a 45-degree angle in order to mimic the shape of a twig.

As this article notes:

These katydids fly well and probably live in the canopy, perhaps on trunks and mossy branches, where the camouflage should be particularly effective.

The moss-and-lichen mimic katydids of the group treated here are easily recognized by their long and slender wings held upward at an almost 45-degree angle. They live in rainforests of central and northern South America, with one species ranging southward to subtropical forest in NE Argentina.

Sources & More Info:

Journal of Orthoptera Research: The Group Paraphidniae, with Three New Species from Guatemala and Ecuador

iNaturalist: Genus Anaphidna

Zoosystematica Rossica: Review of the Neotropical Genus Paraphidnia

Orthoptera Species File: Anaphidna

[headspace-hotel]

Things I saw when I went hiking today

trees! including but not limited to: hickory, maple, sassafras, pine, cedar

butterflies! all kinds, including a tiger swallowtail

beetles, some black, one very shiny brass color

5 or 6 types of moss!!!!!!! maybe more!!! lumps and patches and blankets of it!!! some plush, some shaggy, some fuzzy! wonderful!

stripey lizard

brown lizard

two yellow birds flying together

a garter snake! adorable

a yellow and black millipede

LOTS of poison ivy

many kinds of lichen!

a pink mushroom and also lots of mushrooms covering a log that were pale cream colored and trumpet shaped

orange and yellow slime molds

a stick insect

katydid!

FERNS

[emmagreen1220-blog]

New Post has been published on Biology Dictionary

New Post has been published on https://biologydictionary.net/biotic-factors-tropical-rainforest/

Biotic Factors of the Tropical Rainforest

Biotic factors are the living things in an ecosystem that have an impact on other living things and/or the environment. The tropical rainforests (also known as tropical wet forests) are found in the equatorial regions of Earth and they contain the oldest major vegetation type still in existence. Flowering plants first appeared in tropical rainforests about 100 million years ago. About 40 million years ago when the climate became cooler and drier, other types of vegetation evolved across larger areas as these forests expanded. Over 50% of the plant and animal species on Earth are found in tropical rainforests.

Biotic Factors of the Tropical Rainforest

Biotic factors in any ecosystem are classified as producers (autotrophs), consumers (heterotrophs) and decomposers (detritivores). Plants are mostly producers and the decomposers are organisms like fungi and earthworms. Consumers have to eat other organisms to get their energy.

Animals

Animals are consumers and rely on producers to make some of their food, but they eat other consumers, too. Animals that live in the tropical rainforests include birds like parrots, the collared sunbird, the keel-billed toucan, pigeons and the bird of paradise. Other animals are spider monkeys, deer, kinkajou, okapi, Western lowland gorillas, tree kangaroos, pigs, elephants, rhinoceroses, leopards, bandicoots, opossums and the three-toed sloth.

Plants

One hectare of tropical rainforest can have over 800 species of trees and 1,500 species of higher plants. Also, about two-thirds of the world’s flowering plants are in tropical rainforests. They include orchids, lilies, heliconia and bromeliads. Tropical rainforests can have various fungi, shrubs, herbs, woody vines, lichens and mosses. The trees making up the rainforest canopy include the tonka bean wood, teak, rubber and several species of evergreens and palm trees.

Insects

There can be as many as 42,000 different species of insects in one hectare of tropical rainforest. They include beetles (over 1,000 species), arachnids, scorpions, praying mantises, katydids, weaver ants, bullet ants, butterflies, centipedes, cockroaches, jeweled caterpillars, wasps and bees.

Reptiles and Amphibians

Some of the reptiles and amphibians that live in the tropical rainforest are poison dart frogs, boa constrictors, green anacondas, reticulated pythons, toads, newts, salamanders, turtles, tortoises, lizards, iguanas, chameleons and crocodiles.

The image above shows the Ulva Island rainforest in New Zealand.

References

Tropical rainforest. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved July 3, 2017 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_rainforest#Biodiversity_and_speciation

Tropical rainforest. (2017, July 3). In Encyclopedia Britannica online. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/science/tropical-rainforest