Costa
                        Rica Rainforest Wildlife Info Costa Rica
                      Bugs and Insects

Rainforest Insects


AN EXPAT HOMESCHOOLING PROJECT
Information about Rainforest Animals, Environment and Earth Science in Costa Rica



Camouflage 

Costa Rica's Insect Biodiversity

There are many exotic-looking insect species that you can immediately recognize. Although they use camouflage, Guanacaste walking stick insects are easily spotted at night on low shrubs.

 

Rhinoceros Beetle in Costa Rica

The three inch rhinoceros beetle has an unmistakable long, upward curving horn on its head.

Mimicry 

Brightly Colored Insects Mimic
                              Flowers

Some brightly colored insects even double themselves up at the base of leafstalks, so as to mimic or resemble flowerbuds, and thus deceive other insects on which they prey.

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Unique Rainforest Bugs


The long history of the rainforest has enabled countless butterflies, moths, ants, termites, wasps, bees, and other unique tropical insects to evolve in astounding profusion. There are many thousands of ant species alone. The insect biodiversity in Corcovado National Park includes at least 220 species of breeding butterflies, plus others that are migratory, simply passing through.

And there are so many species of beetles and grasshoppers that no one knows the true numbers. Many, many thousands of creeping, crawling, flying, and buzzing insect species still await identification.  §


 

Dragonflies

 


In Guanacaste, hundreds of species of bees, moth larvae, and tiger beetles make an appearance in the early dry season. When the first rains come, light bulbs are often deluged with adult moths, beetles, and other insects newly emerged from their pupae. That's the time, too, that many species of butterfly migrate from the deciduous lowland forests to highland sites. §


 Camouflage for Insect Predators and Defense

Insect Camouflage
Unique Caterpillar

Insect that Mimics a Leaf
Leaf Insect
 


Many insect species are too small to see. For example, the hummingbird flower mite is so small it can hitch rides from flower to flower inside the nostrils of hummingbirds. Other insects you can detect by their sound. Male wood crickets produce a very loud noise by rubbing together the overlapping edges of their wing cases. §

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Mosquito

Stinging and Biting Insects in Costa Rica


Of course, a host of unfriendly bugs also exist in great numbers: chiggers, wasps and bees (including aggressive African bees), ticks, mosquitoes, and the famous "no-see-ums." All five of these common insects can inflict irritating bites on humans. §

Costa Rica Biodiversity Institute Rainforest Floor