Crazy Man-Faced Bugs

Did you know that there are bugs with colouration which looks exactly like a human face. Nature works in mistirious, yet amazing, and you can really see how big is the similarity between the two. Have you seen such insects before?

Catacanthus Incarnatus

This is the name of the man-faced stink bug. The insect is a species of Heteroptera and it's about 3 centimeters in length. There are four colour morphs of these bugs – orange, red, yellow, and cream. The stink bugs also have dark eye spots on their leathery scutellum and forewings. And when you look the dorsal side of the bug, you can see a man's face. Do you see the shield pattern that resembles the face? It kinda makes the bug look slightly grumpy.

Scientists have discovered that stink bugs are a good source of amino acids, protein, fat, minerals, and vitamins. But even if they are all that, they are a pest, too. Speaking from experience, when the temperatures in Melbourne rise in the spring, stink bugs begin to emerge from their long winter hibernation. And both adult and their larvae start feeding on plants, vegetables, and fruits with gusto. Because of that, getting rid of the stink bug infestations, especially if you have a garden, is absolutely crucial. That's why I always trust local pest control services to help me with these bugs.

Death's-head Hawkmoth

The second bug that creepily resembles a human face is one of the three moth species of the “Acherontia” genus, called “Death's head Hawkmoth”. Don't know about you, but I just got chills. This insect is easily identified by the vaguely human skull-shaped pattern on its thorax. But the oddities don't end only with its head. These moths have the ability to emit a loud squeak when they are irritated. Also, they are commonly observed to raid beehives of bees for the honey. It's also interesting to note that they attacks only colonies of the Western honey bee. Because the moth mimics the scent of bees, it can easily move about in hives without being detected. Some scientists believed that the moth’s squeaking sounds like the noises queen bee's make. Others think that the mark on the thorax is resembles a worker bee's face. Research even shows that the moths excrete an odour that contains the same compounds present in honey bee odour. This completely masks their presence from the bees.

Heikegani

This creature is a specie of crab with shell that looks like an angry samurai's face. And because of that, it's called a “Samurai Crab”. There is a belief that these crabs are reincarnation of the soul of the Heike or Taira warriors – a legendary samurai clan, who where slain in the Battle of Dan-no-ura, a war over the Japanese imperial throne in 1185 AD. According to the legend, the ghosts of the samurai were reincarnated into the Heikegani crabs who ate their remains. That's why the crabs who roam the depths of the oceans around Japan have the peculiar angry samurai masks on their shells.