July 2021 Highlights Gallery

Safety in Numbers - Giant Shield bug nymphs (Pycanum sp

Safety in Numbers - Giant Shield bug nymphs (Pycanum sp.), recently hatched from eggs, with a final individual still to emerge. By staying in a tight group, the nymphs increase the effectiveness of their striking defensive aposematic colouration to ward off would-be predators. I discovered this scene on the underside of a leaf whilst exploring the rainforest at night. Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo

© www.naturepl.com

Dragon mantis (Toxodera beieri), detail of head showing large compound eyes giving it

Dragon mantis (Toxodera beieri), detail of head showing large compound eyes giving it the visual acuity to hunt fast-moving prey. Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo

© www.naturepl.com

Animal, Animal Eye, Animalia, Arthropod, Arthropoda, Asia, Borneo, Borneo Island, Close Up, Dictyoptera, Eyes, Forest, Hexapod, Hexapoda, Insect, Insecta, Invertebrate, Neoptera, Portrait, Pterygota, Rainforest, Sabah, South East Asia, Tropical Rainforest, Wildlife

Rough-scaled death adder (Acanthophis rugosus), slightly inflated to show bright

Rough-scaled death adder (Acanthophis rugosus), slightly inflated to show bright defensive colours hidden between scales, Batchleor, Northern Territory, Australia, November

© www.naturepl.com

Acanthophis, Acanthophis Bottomi, Acanthophis Lancasteri, Acanthophis Rugosus, Acanthophis Woolfi, Animal, Animal Behaviour, Animalia, Australasia, Australia, Death Adder, Defensive, Elapid, Elapidae, Northern Territory, Reptile, Reptilia, Rough Scaled Death Adder, Snake, Squamata, Squamate, Venomous, Vertebrate, Wildlife