Several insects are masters of camouflage and deception. Very common are strategies to imitate plats or parts of plants. The benfit is, of course, to be invisible to predatory animals. This is a buffalo-cicada, a guest from Northern America (Stictocephala bisonia, above), imitating a thorny part of a plant. A similar role takes the dead leaf (Drepanepteryx phalaenoides, below), a close relative of the lacewing.
The anthomyiid fly Eustalomyia hilaris hides nicely among lichen on a tree.
There are not many insects that use objects from their surrounding for camouflage. One exception are reticulated wing insects that sometimes use plant parts on their back as an optical disguise.
