Post #13776

Gorbatka: An abstract masterpiece. Why do these insects grow outgrowths of impossible shapes? At first glance, the humpback looks too strange even for the tricks of evolution. Well, why does a winged and practically weightless insect need huge, bulky outgrowths of a bizarre shape, which are also hollow inside? But, of course, everything is far from so simple. If humps didn’t help their humpbacks survive, insects would simply die out! The vast majority of humpbacks use them for banal camouflage. Sharp spines and wide protrusions are not at all similar to the natural forms of animals and easily confuse birds and insectivorous animals. Especially if the insect is painted in dim colors and hides in dense vegetation. But some went further: they decided to disguise themselves not as an abstract greenfly, but as biting insects: wasps and ants. Cyphonia clavata is especially successful in this, which looks like a red ant looming over a small green winged aphid. The whole scene turns out! And this performance attracts small predatory insects that do not risk entering into a fight with the ant. But humpbacks from the genus Umbonia have turned their camouflage outgrowths into powerful shields, with which females protect their offspring from predators, risking their own lives. Moreover, in the event of the death of their mother, the children will not remain orphans, but will be distributed among neighboring clutches, and their adoptive mothers will protect them as if they were their own. This tactic works great: the chances of survival for protected offspring are 2 times higher than for orphaned babies! However, we were not able to explain all the strange forms in this family. The Brazilian humpback, for example, carries a masterpiece of abstract art on her back, but we have no idea what it is for. Maybe it reminds predators of a dragonfly and scares them away? Maybe it serves as a kind of antenna that allows you to feel static electricity? Or maybe we just have to find the answer, and it will exceed all human expectations! Author: Yaroslav Ilyin 🏀 Hit the hoop and get an NFT gift — https://t.me/BasketbolX_bot