Not A LadyBug 🐞 🪳

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Get ready to get your mind blown!

Maybe, I know I was quite... impressed to say the least.

If you follow my blog long enough then you know I have a thing for mimicry. You know, when animals pretend to be something else, usually to avoid predation.

And today this came to my attention:

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It might look like a ladybug.. But it looks a bit weird...And those huge antennae are a dead giveaway it's something totally different.

In reality it is...

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A fucking cockroach!

Which I guess makes it..a ladyroach? 🙃

So, the cockroach above belongs to the genus Prosoplecta, in which many species look very ladybug like.

But why?

Well, the bright colors of ladybugs are a warning to all predators that they are foul tasting. This is a phenomenon called aposematism and usually predators stay away from such prey.

In this case the cockroaches mimic the ladybugs for the same reason. To deter predators. Whether they are actually foul tasting... That's something I couldn't find.

Unfortunately, there's not much info about them, and most of it is hidden behind paywalled papers. Meh 😑

Here's another individual

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As I said, I couldn't find much info about them and I don't have anything else to say 😅

So here's a link to inaturalist which has some more cool photos though.

Ok frens, this is it for today. See you soon with more bizarre wonders of mother nature !

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40 comments
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oh my, that is a beautiful bug, but also icky at the same time. 😜😎🤙

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I really thought it was a lady bug., we dont find such cockroach like that in my country' this is really great

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You received an upvote of 90% from Precious the Silver Mermaid!

Please remember to contribute great content to the #SilverGoldStackers tag to create another Precious Gem.

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A cockroach?? Looks to beautiful to be.
Which I guess makes it..a ladyroach? Hahahaha. Beautiful specy of cockroach I must say, never expected this filthy guys could in anyway look attractive

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There are some somewhat cute species actually!

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At first sight, I thought that it was a tortoise beetle, but not so. This is very interesting.
!BEER

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I had no idea that kind of bug existed. I saw a lot of ladybugs, probably one of them wasn't really a ladybug. I learned something new, thank you for that :D

P.S.
The photos are amazing, I enjoyed it!

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I thought it was a ladybug also, and I wasn't expecting it to be a cockroach.

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@trumpman The Pyrrhocoris apterus, or firebug, is such an interesting find! I had no idea these common insects had such unique traits, like their wingless forms and distinctive red black patterns. It’s cool to learn they’re harmless sap-feeders, unlike true ladybugs. Are there other similar species in your area with unique adaptations? Your post does a great job breaking down the science in a simple way, and the photos really help show off the firebug’s striking look. Thanks for sharing this neat bit of entomology, it’s got me curious to check out more local insects!

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Wow, never thought I would see a Ladyroach!! :) BTW, you might want to look into sci-hub to check some of those paywall sites... only for evaluation purposes, ofc! ;)

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Oh yes I had forgotten about that! Thanks for the reminder!

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the smartest survivor ever, believe it to stay longer than any other living creatures on earth (including humans) in terms of surviving a cathastrophe (nuclear war for example).

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