Camper thinks he sees bird poop on ground — but it was actually ‘fluffy’ new species
While James Tweed was camping in a rainforest along Australia’s Gold Coast, something white and fluffy caught his eye.
Tweed, an environmental Ph.D. student at the University of Queensland, initially took the mystery object — perched on a nearby leaf — for nothing more than bird droppings.
But, he soon realized it was actually alive. The object, it turned out, was a longhorn beetle, measuring less than an inch long and covered in long, milk-colored hairs.
Upon returning from camping, Tweed scoured scientific papers, online materials and books in search of the creature — but nothing was a match.
He even sought out the help of seasoned insect identifiers on Facebook, but he still came up short.
Eventually, Tweed contacted and visited the Australian National Insect Collection (ANIC), which houses the world’s largest collection of insects from the continent.
While there, he was informed that the beetle not only belonged to a previously unknown species — but also to a completely new genus, according to a March 21 news release from the University of Queensland.
The genus was named Excastra, which means “from the camp” in Latin, and the species was named albopilosa, which translates to “white and hairy.”
“We don’t yet know what these hairs are for, but our primary theory is that they make the insect look like it’s been killed by an insect-killing fungus,” Tweed said in the release.
The fungus-covered appearance could make predators think twice about eating it.
Other beetle species are known to be masters of camouflage, including one found in Oregon that looks like tree bark and another from China that chew “beetle-shaped holes” in leaves to confuse prey.
But in order to confirm this camouflage theory, more research is needed on the newfound species, Tweed said.
Since his initial discovery, Tweed has returned to the rainforest multiple times but has not had any luck finding the species again.
He noted that identifying unknown species remains crucial, particularly as biodiversity is declining rapidly across the globe.
“Insects are the most diverse group of animals on the planet but are also the most underappreciated and understudied,” he said. “Best estimates suggest there may be 5.5 million insect species worldwide and only one-fifth of these have been named and described.”
This story was originally published March 26, 2024 at 2:55 PM with the headline "Camper thinks he sees bird poop on ground — but it was actually ‘fluffy’ new species."