Scientists observed a rare tropical katydid changing color from bright pink to green over 11 days in Panama. The transformation helps the insect mimic young rainforest leaves that start pink before maturing green. Researchers describe it as a survival strategy rather than a mutation.
Researchers discovered an adult female Arota festae katydid, a leaf-mimicking bush cricket, glowing hot pink at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute's field station on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Within 11 days in natural conditions, it turned fully green, matching the typical adult form. The species inhabits parts of Central and South America, including Panama, Colombia, and Suriname. The finding appears in the journal Ecology this week (2026; 107 (3)).The color shift aligns with 'delayed greening' in tropical plants, where about one-third of species on Barro Colorado Island produce pink or red young leaves that later green. Lead author Dr. Benito Wainwright of the University of St Andrews said: 'Finding this individual was a genuine surprise. Because it was so rare, we kept it in natural conditions and found it changing color from hot pink to green.' He added that it may be 'a finely tuned survival strategy that tracks the life cycle of the rainforest leaves this insect is trying to resemble.'The team from the University of St Andrews, University of Reading, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and University of Amsterdam monitored the insect for 30 days, photographing it daily. The pink faded after four days to pastel, completing the change by day 11. The katydid mated and died naturally the next month.Pink forms have been noted since 1878 but seen as rare mutations. Dr. Matt Greenwell of the University of Reading noted: 'Tropical forests are extraordinarily complex environments, and this discovery hints at just how precisely some animals have evolved to exploit them.' This marks the first documented full color transition in a single life stage for such a katydid.