Fredric V. Vencl
Beetle or bite mark? Leaf beetles are disguising themselves as the holes and scrapes they make on leaves while eating. Although many insects trick predators by mimicking objects like twigs and leaves, this is the first instance of feeding damage being used as a decoy.
from Stony Brook University in New York and his colleagues had trouble picking out on heavily-chewed leaves, and decided to investigate. They analysed photographs of 119 species alongside the size, shape and colour of their bite patterns. Most species resembled their own bite marks, even those that were distantly…
