Alien in Sheep’s Clothing! - Debris Carrying Lacewing Larva

If you’ve ever noticed little pieces of lichen walking about on the tree trunk, your eyes were not playing tricks on you. You have found none other than the debris carrying lacewing larva, also known as the Junk bug. These insects are the larva or immature stage of the elegant lacewing. Being carnivores, they camouflage themselves up and hunt among the trucks of trees and upon bushes and plants by sweeping their heads back and forth as the search for food. They will take bits of lichen and debris and stick it on their backs. They do this to disguise themselves. Sometimes they even take the hollow corpses of their discarded meals and stick them there, also. Imagine if mammals did that. This gruesome act is akin to a wolf in sheeps clothing. Lord of the Land by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license () Source: Artist: