If you travel to the tropics, it’s inevitable that you’ll meet up with some of the area’s tiniest yet most fascinating and sometimes scary creatures: bugs. Read on for a look at nine you might encounter in Latin America, from the little but powerful Bullet Ant to the Giant Helicopter Damselfly. And here’s some advice worth heeding: these guys are strictly for looking at–no touching.

David M. Jensen

Costa Rican Hairy Caterpillar

The tropics are full of poisonous caterpillars, and the Costa Rican Hairy Caterpillar is no exception. This ghostly beautiful but dangerous insect excretes poison as a defense mechanism against predators.

Many tropical caterpillars use poison to protect themselves. Reactions in humans can vary from irritating rashes to nausea to bleeding to death from anticoagulants, so it’s best to never touch any caterpillar you find.

SA 3.0

Scorpion

Many people associate scorpions with the desert, but did you know they can live in the rain forest too? Central America is home to 400 species of scorpions. Fourteen can be found in Costa Rica, but fortunately none of those are poisonous. In the tropics of Latin America, scorpions prefer damp, shady areas, including caves and human homes.

This arachnid (the same family as spiders) can be found throughout Costa Rica, including Cocos Island. You can’t miss it with its eight legs and two lobster-like pincers in front (called pedipalps). Its massive jaws, called chelicerae, help scorpions eat insects, spiders, and even each other.

But the business end of the scorpion is the tail, which is where its stinger is located. If you’re in a spot frequented by scorpions, take care to shake out your shoes before putting them on, and think twice about reaching into dark places without taking a peek first.

The rainy season from May to October is often the best time to see all kinds of wildlife in Central America, including insects and arachnids, as well as whales and turtles. The moisture offers the kind of habitat that many bugs need, and it provides a lush green backdrop for your travels. This is a perfect time to check out places like Costa Rica, when the tourists will be few and the spectacular waterfalls plentiful.

Insect Pod

Kissing Bug

The Kissing Bug, AKA Chagas Bug, is in a group of insects known as Assassin Bugs. While it sounds romantic, the Kissing Bug actually takes its name from biting humans on the face at night to eat their blood. This bite can become a vector for the parasitic protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi to enter the body, causing heart failure and even death in what is known as Chagas Disease.

Residents of rural areas are at greatest risk from Kissing Bug bites, especially if they have thatched roofs or grass elements to their homes. This provides the perfect habitat for the insect. The upside to the Assassin Bug is that it eats other insects, so it is beneficial to farmers.

myrmecos

Hercules Beetle

The amazing Hercules Beetle can lift 850 times its own weight! This species is threatened because its rainforest habitat is rapidly diminishing. The Hercules Beetle lives in rotten tree trunks and eats fallen fruit and decomposing leaves.

If you live in Honduras, you may catch a glimpse of this insect, as they are fairly common there and hard to miss, topping out at almost seven inches long.

Geoff Gallice

Bullet Ant

Don’t let the Bullet Ant’s diminutive size fool you. This insect delivers a sting that’s so powerful it’s said to feel like being shot by a bullet. Some people have even described it as the worst insect sting in the world. Fortunately its bite isn’t fatal, but you won’t ever forget it.

Bullet Ants can be found throughout Costa Rica in nests of roughly 700 ants under bushes and trees. One hectare can hold as many as three nests. That’s a LOT of ants when their bite is that nasty!

Marciani

Thorn Tree Hopper

Sadly, the Thorn Tree Hopper only lives a few months. This colorful and crafty Tree Hopper sports a protuberance on its back that looks just like a thorn–the perfect camouflage for it’s prickly environment. Usually found at the edge of forested land, the Thorn Tree Hopper is more nimble than it looks and can both jump and fly away from predators.

Roachforum

Central American Giant Cockroach

This is another tropical bug that likes dark, moist spaces. The Central American Giant Cockroach eats decaying plants, bat guano, and fruits, as well as dead animals and insects. One of the largest insects in the world, this monster can grow up to ten centimeters long.

Some people find these kinds of bugs super creepy, but others think they’re really interesting. If you’re in the latter category, Latin America is the place to be, as there are millions of bug species you could spend your whole life researching. If you’re just getting interested in entomology, these stunning photos of bugs will help you identify common species.

Lviatour

Giant Helicopter Damselfly

Another extra-large bug, the Giant Helicopter Damselfly can reach over seven inches in length. It has two sets of wings, which allows it to both hover and move in multiple directions–all the better for catching its favorite diet of mosquitoes.

It’s not the nicest insect to its own kind, however. Young naiads kill each other vying over their watery habitat in tree holes, until there is only one juvenile damselfly to every liter of liquid.

Bandwagonman

Leaf-cutter Ant

One of the coolest insects ever, the Leaf-cutter Ant works in colonies that perform “task partitioning,” completing jobs like a miniature assembly line. Their workers, soldiers and queens divide and conquer when it comes to defoliating plants and trees–one of the reasons they are also unfortunately considered a crop pest.

Because of Latin American deforestation, the Leaf-cutter Ant has adapted to forest gap lands, often moving from the rainforest into plantation or farmland. If you are lucky enough to see these guys in action, be sure to take some pictures, or better yet a movie, to capture their incredibly well-organized work methods.

The Latin American tropics are full of wondrous creatures found nowhere else on earth. Help protect their natural habitats, and they will be around for a long time for us to enjoy–from a distance, of course.