Giant Green Leaf Insect
Our Ecuador trip wasn’t just to the Galapagos Islands. We also spent three nights in the cloud forest on the mainland. Basically, the cloud forest is where the Amazon rises up to meet the Andes. Clouds bump into the sides of the mountain and have nowhere to go so they just sit there. Everything is always wet, and therefore, very green and lush with vegetation. I was in search of all the exotic wildlife that lives in this region — pumas, ocelots, spectacled bears, etc. I knew that I was in for trouble when the first thing our guide asked was if I liked bugs. For the most part, that’s what we saw, bugs, until a surprise visitor on our last day (but that’s a story for a future post). For now, I present one of the great bugs of the cloud forest. This is a giant green leaf insect. It was about six inches long, oddly handsome, and a dead ringer for one of the stars of the animated movie “A Bug’s Life.” Unfortunately, this was the last photo ever taken of this poor guy. About ten seconds after snapping the shutter (while I was changing lenses) a hawk swooped down and ended it all. R.I.P. my little green friend.
Oh well, at least you’ve immortalized the poor giant green bug by capturing it on digital :-).
Sean, out of interest, did you arrange your trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos thtough a tour operator or did you organize everytrhing on your own? Regds, Brian
Hey Brian,
I arranged this trip through a company that I have used for my last four trips (also Kenya, Botswana and India). They’re based out of the UK and called Natural World Safaris. They end up contracting with a local tour company in Ecuador to arrange everything (that company is called Metropolitan Touring). All in all, it doesn’t end up costing much more to have someone else make all the logistical arrangements on these types of trips (they get a preferred rate from the lodges, transfer companies, etc) and to me it is well worth it to not have to worry about getting from one place to another and to be able to concentrate on the photography.
looks human…a cartoon.
What a character!
That little mouth seems to be expressing ‘uhmm….’. Thanks for explaining the size. The hawk must have been watching you set up his kill! Great shot!
such an expressive face! wow!
Could make a person like bugs.
OMG he looks like Jiminy Cricket! Maybe I’ll give him some glasses, top hat and an umbrella?!!
Awesome creature!
What a sad story. Glad you captured his last moments.
LOVE IT! Sorry to hear about his early demise; he had such a great face!
A very dramatic shot.
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