ArticleScientific reports2023
Crypsis by background matching and disruptive coloration as drivers of substrate occupation in sympatric Amazonian bark praying mantises.
Article in Scientific reports, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 4 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Chromatic Contrast Alone Does Not Predict Predation Risk in the Longhorn BeetleEcology and evolution · 2026Article
- Allometry of Ingestion Among Habitat Mimicking Praying Mantises.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- A macroevolutionary perspective of cryptic coloration in sexually dichromatic grasshoppers of the genus Sphenarium (Orthoptera: Pyrgomorphidae).Oecologia · 2025Article
- Coloration in a Praying Mantis: Color Change, Sexual Color Dimorphism, and Possible Camouflage Strategies.Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Background matching and disruptive coloration are common camouflage strategies in nature, but few studies have accurately measured their protective value in living organisms. Amazon's Bark praying mantises exhibit colour patterns matching whitish and greenish-brown tree trunks. We tested the functional significance of background matching and disruptive coloration of different praying mantis morphospecies (white, grey and green) detected by DNA barcoding. Through image analysis, avian visual models and field experiments using humans as potential predators, we explored whether the background occupation of mantises provides camouflage against predation. Data were obtained for individuals against their occupied tree trunks (whitish or greenish-brown) and microhabitats (lichen or bryophyte patches), compared to non-occupied trunks. White and grey mantises showed lower colour contrasts against occupied trunks at the scale of tree trunk, with no differences in luminance contrasts. Conversely, green mantises showed lower colour and luminance contrasts against microhabitats and also exhibited high edge disruption against greenish-brown trunks. The camouflage of white and green mantis models against colour-matching trunks increased search time and reduced encounter distance of human predators. We highlight the importance of camouflage strategies at different spatial scales to enhance individual survival against predators. Specifically, we present a stunning study system to investigate the relationship of phylogenetically related species that use camouflage in sympatry.
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