If there were a silly bug competition, surely this one would be high in the running:

What sort of creature is our silly insect?
5 points to the first person to correctly pick the order, and 5 more for family. Guesses must be accompanied by supporting trait information for full credit.
The cumulative points winner for today through the month of February will win their choice of 1) an 8×10-sized print from my photo galleries, or 2) a guest post here on Myrmecos.
Orthoptera, Proscopidae (jumping sticks)! Not sure what else I can say, the crazy head shape and awesome eyes are easily recognized.
Seeing these critters in the wild is almost as much fun as the this photo!
Orthoptera: Proscopiidae?
Apioscelis bulbosa in the orthopteran family Proscopiidae – known as jumping sticks, but more related to grasshoppers than walkingsticks.
And a marvelous photo!
Silly? No, not silly. I am sure this guy or gilr is quite serious, maybe even on a hunt or looking for a mate, and you distracted it with your camera! I would say incredibly cute (which is a sign my my affection whether others agree that it is cute or not). Obviously, several others beat me to the guess. So, exactly who is this?
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Dangit, wish I had checked this last night, already been beat. Finally something I knew right away because I saw these in Ecuador too!
I’m sure everyone’s already gotten this one, but I LOVE this photo! I hope it goes up on your photography site at some point because this is my new favorite and I’m still looking to buy one of your photos to add to my collection. Hint hint. 🙂
Eheh… I kept them, and there’s a similar image in the home page of the forum I administer:
http://www.entoforum.it
(it’s an italian forum about insetcts keeping…)
Great pic, Alex, as always… 😉
I’ve been so busy doing other stuff that I haven’t made the time to browse blogs. What a delight, Alex! Keep up the great work and the stunning images!
No, no, no.
Obviously it’s one of the Sesame Street Twiddlebugs:
See how closely it resembles Moma Twiddlebug.
🙂
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