Beautiful, unusual insects discovered in the Amazon's canopy

April 6, 2021

Insects are to the animal kingdom what the deep sea is to Earth: largely unknown to science. “We think because we know the birds and the mammals that we’ve already discovered what’s on this planet. In fact, we’ve just scratched the surface,” says Brown.

The Smithsonian Institution says that “there are more insect species that have not been described (named by science) than there are insect species that have been previously named.” Flies are particularly diverse: More than 124,000 species have been identified, but scientists suspect countless more are awaiting discovery.

The Amazon is home to at least 10 percent of the world’s known biodiversity and hundreds of thousands of insect species. But it’s an uncertain time for the rainforest and for insects.

Although it’s common for scientists to stumble upon new insects in the Amazon, the volume of unfamiliar fly specimens caught in Rafael’s tower traps was staggering. “It was like they discovered a new continent in terms of the level of novelty,” Brown said.

Moreover, many species appeared only in traps set above the ground level. “Finding a separate fauna in the canopy was astonishing,” Amorim said later. “Almost two-thirds of fly diversity is present in the eight- to 32-meter traps, but not in the soil. That means quite a lot of loss when big trees are cut down.”

Brown, one of the world’s preeminent experts on the family Phoridae, knew he needed to see these new phorid species in the wild for himself—and as quickly as possible. “I always feel like we’re one farmer and machete away from losing a whole bunch of species,” he said ruefully.