Images Dated 12th May 2019

Shanghai elegant skink (Plestiodon elegans)

Shanghai elegant skink (Plestiodon elegans), with startling colours for survival: predators are attracted to the blue-purple tail that breaks off if grabbed. The skink escapes and hides while the predator is left with the vigorously wriggling tail. The skink grows a replacement, with the same colouring but shorter. Senkaku Islands, East China Sea, Japan

A mayfly (Dipteromimus tipuliformis)

A mayfly (Dipteromimus tipuliformis), adult at rest, wings held upright. It is a male, with large eyes and long front legs to find and then grasp a female during mating in the air. Ehime Prefecture, Japan

Aquatic, Dipteromimidae, Endemic To Japan, Ephemoptera, Imago, Insect, June, Long Tail, Mayflies, Primitive, Summer

A stick insect (Micadina phluctaenoides)

A stick insect (Micadina phluctaenoides), hatching. If it is male, it may reach 40 mm in length, if female, 57 mm, and its green colour will give it perfect camouflage in leaves. Its egg case also is camouflaged, as a seed of its host tree, Castanopsis sp., family Fagaceae. Japan

Case, Egg, Endemic To Japan, Insect, Mantid, March, Phasmatidae, Phasmid, Spring