Scientists have discovered a tropical insect that can shift its color from bright hot pink to green in about two weeks. Researchers believe this dramatic transformation helps it resemble the young leaves of rainforest plants, which often start out pink before turning green.
The discovery, reported this week in the journal Ecology, centers on arota festae, a leaf-mimicking katydid also known as a “bush cricket.” This species is found in parts of Central and South America, including Panama, Colombia, and Suriname.
A Rare Observation in Panama
The unusual color change was first noticed when researchers found an adult female at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute’s field station on Barro Colorado Island in Panama. When she was initially seen under a light, her color was a striking hot pink. Just eleven days later, she had become fully green.
Mimicking Leaf Color Changes in the Rainforest
A team from the University of St Andrews, University of Reading, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and the University of Amsterdam suggests that this color shift may be linked to a natural process known as “delayed greening.” In many tropical plants, newly emerged leaves appear in bright pink or red shades before gradually turning green as they mature.
On Barro Colorado Island, about one-third of plant species display this pattern throughout the year. This provides a consistent backdrop of pink foliage, allowing an insect with similar coloring to remain hidden from predators.
A Possible Survival Strategy, Not a Mutation
Lead author Dr. Benito Wainwright of the University of St Andrews said: “Finding this individual was a genuine surprise. Because it was so rare, we kept it in natural conditions and found it changing color from hot pink to green.
“Rather than a bizarre genetic quirk, this may actually be a finely tuned survival strategy that tracks the life cycle of the rainforest leaves this insect is trying to resemble.”
To better understand the process, the researchers kept the insect in captivity for 30 days and photographed it each day. The vivid pink began to fade after four days, becoming a softer pastel shade. By day eleven, the insect looked identical to the typical green form.
A First-of-Its-Kind Color Shift
The katydid lived long enough to mate and later died naturally the following month.
Pink katydids have been recorded in scientific literature since 1878, but they have usually been viewed as rare and disadvantageous mutations. This observation appears to be the first documented case of a katydid completing a full color transition within a single stage of its life.
Camouflage in a Complex Ecosystem
Dr. Matt Greenwell of the University of Reading, a co-author of the study, said: “Tropical forests are extraordinarily complex environments, and this discovery hints at just how precisely some animals have evolved to exploit them.
“You would think that a bright pink insect in a mostly green forest would stand out to predators like a worker in a high-vis jacket. The idea that an insect might gradually shift color to keep pace with the leaves it mimics shows how dynamic the rainforest can be, and is a remarkable example of camouflage in action.”