Gallery: Bugs and Spiders Disguised as Poop, Leaves, and Each Other
01Bird Dung Crab Spider
*We especially loved this bird dung crab spider (Phrynarachne) because it also looks like an Ewok. A poopy Ewok. Photo: Nicky Bay.*
02Dead Leaf Grasshopper
*This is a grasshopper (Caelifera), not a dead leaf. Its little legs are the only things that give away the trickery. Photo: Nicky Bay.*
03Ladybird Beetle Mimic
*Real ladybirds, which normally taste terrible to predators, aren't as fuzzy as this ladybird mimic beetle. Photo: Nicky Bay.*
04Twig-Like Feather Legged Spider
*This thing is so amazing we don't even know where to start. Here goes: THIS IS A SPIDER. A twig-like, feather-legged spider, Miagrammopes sp. We humbly bow down to this creature, which looks so very unspiderlike in every way. Photo: Nicky Bay.*
05Common Awl Larvae
*Sometimes, your face looks like a face. Other times, it looks like a lady bug. This is the larva of the common awl (Hasora badra badra), which clearly falls into the latter category. Photo: Nicky Bay.*
06Ant Mimic Crab Spider
*This ant-mimic crab spider (Amyciaea lineatipes) was hoping to attract a weaver ant by waving its forelegs and dancing around. [It worked](http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickadel/8070903980/). Photo: Nicky Bay.*
07Forest Leaf Grasshopper
*This is not a leaf that's gently changing color as summer slips into fall. It's a forest leaf grasshopper (Systella rafflesii), and it's incredible. Photo: Nicky Bay.*
08Bird Dung Crab Spider
*One of the more incredible spiders we've ever seen, this bird dung crab spider is doing its best to resemble something that most birds wouldn't want to eat. It also looks like a totem pole. Photo: Nicky Bay.*
09Find The Grasshopper!
*We swear there is a grasshopper (Systella rafflesii) in this pile of leaves. Do you see it? Give us your best guess in the comments! Photo: Nicky Bay.*
10Thorn Mimic Treehoppers
*Treehoppers are among the most fascinating insects. In addition to often being exquisitely ornamented (and armored), the bugs (Membracidae) communicate with one another by vibrating the branches they're perched on. Different vibrations mean different things -- like alarm calls, for example. [Rex Cocroft](http://www.biosci.missouri.edu/cocroft/), an entomologist at the University of Missouri, has transduced some of the treehoppers' shaking songs into tones audible to humans. They sound like everything [from percussive pulses to whalesong](http://treehoppers.insectmuseum.org/public/site/treehoppers/home/sounds). Photo: Nicky Bay.*
11Water Scorpion
*Scorpions are arachnids (like spiders), and this is not an arachnid. It's an insect that's doing its best to make its front legs look like claws and its tail look like a stinger. In reality, that tail functions like a snorkel: The water scorpion (Nepidae) uses it to breathe underwater. Oh, it also has two pairs of wings, and it flies. Photo: Nicky Bay.*
12Gray's Leaf Insect
*This leaf insect (Phyllium sp.) has a thin, wafer-like body that is almost indistinguishable from an actual leaf. Photo: Nicky Bay.*
13Stick Insects
*These stick insects (Aschiphasma annulipes) are so intricately beautiful it's a shame they blend in so well with their green background. Photo: Nicky Bay.*
14Moss Mantis
*If you're going to hide in plain sight in a humid, tropical place, looking like a patch of moss isn't a bad idea. That's what this mantis (Ceratohaania sp.) does. Mostly. From the side, its silhouette also manages to look remarkably dinosaurish. Photo: Nicky Bay.*
15Tree Stump Orb Weaver
*Nothing to see here, folks. Just this tiny little stump... (Tree Stump Orb Weaver, Poltys sp.) Photo: Nicky Bay.*
16Flatid Planthopper
*This is a leaf with red eyes. Aka, a Fulgoroid planthopper from the family Flatidae. Photo: Nicky Bay.*
17Twig Spider
*This spider (Ariamnes sp) uses its abdomen to resemble a twig. A twig in the breeze, perhaps. "Definitely not easy to get everything in the same plane of focus for this restless spider," Bay noted. Photo: Nicky Bay.*
18Bird Dropping Spider
*This is not a spider, it's a bird dropping...or just a very cleverly colored little crab spider (Thomisidae). Photo: Nicky Bay.*
