Hot Neon Hopper Nymph
Besides lime green googly eyes, this hopper nymph (Coelidia olitoria) has a vivid orange coloring that would makes it look right at home in a Pixar movie. Hopper nymphs come in a wide array of bright, bold colors, including green and yellow.
Cute Caterpillar
This anime-eyed caterpillar is the larva of the spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus), a beautiful black butterfly with azure blue accents. The caterpillar’s deceptive pattern makes it appear to have large eyes that resemble a snake’s. This is meant to scare off and confuse predators. The patterns of the eyes vary from caterpillar to caterpillar, making them appear to have different “facial expressions.”
Shimmery Jewel Beetle
Metallic jewel beetles are perhaps the prettiest beetles next to ladybugs. There are approximately 15,000 species of jewel beetles worldwide, according to United States Department of Agriculture, with new species discovered as recently as July. The above beetle was identified as an Anthaxia nitidula species of jewel beetles that belongs to the Buprestidae family.
Rainbow Jewel Beetle
Jewel beetles come in all different colors of the rainbow. Some species, such as the above Chrysochroa fulgens, even display a metallic gleam that shows off all these colors at once, similar to the visual effect of an oil slick in a puddle.
Adorable Red Milkweed Beetle
The Red Milkweed Beetle (Tetraopes tetraophthalmus) belongs to the Cerambycidae family of longhorn beetles and is red with black dots like a ladybug, but has a long and narrow body like a firefly. Its species name literally means “four eyes” because its antennae split each eye in two. Also like ladybugs, they are toxic to some animals, and their spots warn hungry predators to stay away.
Man-faced Bug
With its suave good-looks and Elvis-like hairdo, have you ever felt a stronger urge to give a bug a high-five? Sadly, that’s not really his face—and being a stink bug, this fella is not so much a hipster as he is merely smelly. As with many bugs, his bold colors are designed to make predators think that he’s either venomous or bad tasting.
Rosy Maple Moth
Moths are generally considered to be ill-favored by the god of beauty, especially in contrast to butterflies—but here’s one moth that gives butterflies a run for their money. Rosy maple moths are found throughout North America, and are most often found around dusk, which is their favorite time to mate and lay eggs.
Treehopper
Although the bug in the photo above looks a little bit like a friendly Martian, he’s actually just one of many types of treehoppers found throughout the world. Sadly, individual treehoppers live only for a few months. As a species, however, they have existed for forty million years.
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