Researchers at a field station in Panama observed a katydid with striking hot-pink coloration in the rainforest. Rather than assuming the coloration was simply a genetic anomaly, they monitored the insect to document what would occur over time. Eleven days later, it was completely green.
The findings, published in Ecology, center on Arota festae, a leaf-mimicking katydid found in Panama, Colombia, and Suriname. This observation is shifting researchers’ understanding of dynamic camouflage in relation to the changing colors of rainforest leaves.
More Than a Mutation
The discovery happened on March 27, 2025, at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute’s field station on Barro Colorado Island. Dr. Benito Wainwright, the lead author from the University of St Andrews, observed an adult female A. festae with a bright, hot pink color under a research station light. Since this color is so rare, the team kept the insect in natural conditions and checked on its appearance every day.
The katydid retained its pink coloration for four days, which then faded to a lighter shade. By the eleventh day, it had matched the typical green coloration of the species. The insect survived long enough to mate and died naturally the following month.
“Finding this individual was a genuine surprise,” Wainwright said. “Rather than a bizarre genetic quirk, this may actually be a finely tuned survival strategy that tracks the life cycle of the rainforest leaves this insect is trying to resemble.”
Camouflage That Changes With the Forest
This color change is connected to a process called delayed greening. In many tropical plants, new leaves start out pink or red and turn green as they grow. On Barro Colorado Island, about a third of plant species show this color pattern year-round, so pink leaves are always present in the forest.
A katydid that changes color in step with this pattern can stay hidden in its environment. The research team suggests that A. festae may have evolved to match its color transition to the leaf color cycle, allowing it to blend in at each stage rather than maintaining a single color.
A First in the Scientific Record
Pink katydids have been documented in scientific literature since 1878, but have generally been regarded as rare and disadvantageous mutations. This new observation challenges that interpretation. There are no previous records of a katydid completing a full color transition within a single adult stage; therefore, this appears to be the first documented case.
Dr. Matt Greenwell from the University of Reading, who co-authored the study, explained the finding as an example of how exactly the rainforest can influence the animals that live there.
“You would think that a bright pink insect in a mostly green forest would stand out to predators like a worker in a high-vis jacket,” Greenwell said. “The idea that an insect might gradually shift color to keep pace with the leaves it mimics shows how dynamic the rainforest can be, and is a remarkable example of camouflage in action.”
More Questions Than Answers
The researchers point out that their findings are based on a single observed individual, which limits the study. They still do not know whether this color shift occurs across the species, what biological mechanisms drive it, or whether environmental or internal factors trigger it.
Still, this finding offers a new way to think about insect camouflage. Rather than seeing color as fixed, A. festae shows that some species may have evolved to adjust their color as the environment changes, staying hidden by following ongoing changes instead of matching just one background.
Austin Burgess is a writer and researcher with a background in sales, marketing, and data analytics. He holds an MBA, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and a data analytics certification. His work focuses on breaking scientific developments, with an emphasis on emerging biology, cognitive neuroscience, and archaeological discoveries.