Take a look at the picture of an ant, above. Yet, this is
not a photograph of an ant: it isn’t even a photograph of an ant attacking an insect. It is in fact the ant-mimicking treehopper (
Cyphonia clavata) which keeps itself safe from predators by
pretending to be an ant. What looks like an ant here is actually extension growths on its body - which most other insect species are incapable of creating.
The plan is that any predator looking down will only see what looks like an ant. The rest of the treehopper’s body will blend in with the foliage. What seems, at first, strange is that the body of the ant is positioned
backwards on that of the treehopper. Take a look at the abdomen of
the ant and you will see the tiny green eyes of the treehopper. Why is this? It is because when it is in defensive mode an ant will move
backwards. In this way, the ant-mimicking treehopper (which can be found in in Middle and South America) has, in fact, got this right too.
