Field Grasshopper
Trilophidia sp.
Observed in a recently plowed maize field at Eldoret, Kenya. December 2014. The soil is dry, red, lateritic clay. Identification was suggested by Jacques Mestre.
How does a camouflaged grasshopper interpret the color variations in the substrate so as to maximize its hiding power? Does it take many generations for a local population exposed to visual predators to select for the best match between the color patterns of the insect and where it usually sits?
This similar example is from near Turbo, west of Eldoret, Kenya. December 2015. The soil here was gray-black.
The fringes of setae all around might serve to blur the outline of the insect thus making it more difficult for sharp-eyed birds to pick out.