Does a Walking Leaf Really Walk?

In nature, camouflage means a disguise employed by animals or plants to conceal themselves from their enemies. And there is no better camouflage in the animal world than that used by an insect known as the walking leaf.

This creature of disguise, which lives on the island of Ceylon, near India, spends its life in trees and shrubs, feeding on leaves at night and resting during the day. To help the insect blend in with the leaves and hide from its enemies, nature has given the walking leaf a set of green wings that are shaped and ribbed exactly like the leaves of the trees in which it lives.

The back of this 3-inch-long insect has broad wings with vein-like markings that fold over in the shape of a leaf. These wings have yellowed edges that resemble a leaf that has been nibbled by an insect. The insect's legs, too, have leaf-like growths over them, resembling smaller leaves. When the wind blows, the walking leaf wiggles its body, taking on the appearance of a leaf being shaken by the wind.

The walking leaf even lays eggs that look like plant seeds!