HIDING within the majestic petals of a patch of orchids in the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia lies one of the world’s most stealthy creatures.

For decades, humans believed the orchid mantis was hiding within the petals of these orchids, fleeing from the many dangers lurking on the forest floor in Malaysia.

But a new exhibition at the Melbourne Museum is sharing incredible new insight which has changed what we thought we knew about these beautifully disguised creatures.

What Australian scientists learned about these surprisingly uncommon creatures is that instead of hiding within these petals, ambushing bees and flies, they have become finely adapted for camouflage, mimicking parts of the orchid flower in an extraordinary display of predatory behaviour.

In fact it’s killer moves are now described as “pure ninja stealth” and scientists believe the insect is even better at catching pollinators than orchids themselves.

“This [the Orchid Mantis] is one of our big hero bugs,” Dr Phil Sirvid, entomologist at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, who worked in conjunction with Melbourne Museum for the exhibition, told news.com.au.

According to Melbourne Museum, its Bug Lab: Little Bugs, Super Powers exhibition allows museum visitors to “get up close and personal with real bugs including stick insects, beetles, snails, spiders and learn about their habitats, life cycles, social lives and how much humans depend on them”.

The Orchid Mantis is highlighted in the exhibition because of its deceptive imitation of the texture and colour of the orchid’s petals.

It remains completely still as it camouflages itself, only rotating its head to suss its surroundings.

It has a large appetite, but it is a selective hunter.

“For decades we thought it was hiding and ambushing bees and flies,” Dr Sirvid said.

“But it’s far more cunning than that.”

Dr Sirvid explains that when a bee flies around looking for pollen, the way the flower looks to us is different to the way the flower looks to the bee.

Flowers signal to bees using pollen and nectar, but the orchid mantis has found a way to override this signal with its own.

“What the orchid mantis is doing is outshining the flowers, providing more of a reward for the bee, and the bee will fly into the orchid mantis. It’s the last mistake it will ever make.”

It turns out the mantis was never hiding at all, it was in fact, trapping.

“To a bee, the mantis looks like the best flower around. It’s like a hack, the bee is perceiving the UV shine of the mantis as a promising reward. But it will be anything but.”

Any pollinating insect, including flies, butterflies and moths, will all be fooled in just the same way as the bees.

Scientists call it an “aggressive mimicry”.

Once it has its prey right where it wants it, the orchid mantis uses its front legs, covered in dagger-like spines, to spike its prey.

“They’re such a wonderful looking insects, it’s a nice science, because for years people thought it was hiding, then people like James [O’Hanlon, an Australian scientist] flipped what we thought we know on its head.”

“It’s an amazing looking animal, an attractive looking thing.”

— Bug Lab: Little Bugs, Super Powers is on from 23 June — 15 October 2017 at the Melbourne Museum. Find more information here.

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