Orchid Mantis-The Beautiful Bug That Looks Just Like A Flower

When were they discovered? British explorer James Hingsley recorded an orchid mantis sighting in his journal in the late 19th century when he was on an expedition in Indonesia. Though Hingsley surely wasn't the first to encounter the unique bug, his account is one of the earliest known records. In his account, James Hingsley stumbled across a red flower that trapped a butterfly and ate it, just like a spider would have trapped its prey to devour it. Of course, Kingsley was witnessing an orchid mantis eating a butterfly, but he was deceived by the mantis's camouflage.