Pterochroza ocellata
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Pterochroza ocellata, the peacock katydid, is an insect in the family Tettigoniidae from the Amazon rainforest in South America. It is the only species in the genus Pterochroza. The species is a leaf-mimic katydid; when it is in repose its camouflage resembles a diseased or dead leaf. The katydid owes both its common name and its specific epithet (ocellata, meaning "marked with little eyes") to its startle display, in which it shows false eye spots on its normally hidden hind wings.
The adult Pterochroza ocellata is about 45mm to 65mm in length. In its protective camouflage it resembles a dried leaf. If in spite of its camouflage it is threatened, the katydid exposes its hind wings, displaying two conspicuous eye spots.
No two individual Pterochroza ocellata are identical in their color pattern or the shape of the wings; this reduces the risk that predators could learn to recognize a fixed visual pattern. As in all katydids, their organs of hearing, or tympana, are on their front legs just below the joint between the femur and the tibia. The antennae are long, even for Tettigoniidae, being two to three times the length of the body.
Pterochroza ocellata... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 2 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 3 | Yasuní National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 4 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Pterochroza ocellata sighting in Manu National Park on a given day, based on 28 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 30th most-seen of the 366 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Pterochroza ocellata in Manu National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July and August, the lowest months. That is one of Manu National Park's wettest months, with about 250 mm of rain against 60 mm in August.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pterochroza ocellata sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
2nd of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Pterochroza ocellata sightings, Manu National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve (Ecuador, about 30%).
Same family: Tettigoniidae
The closest relatives of the Pterochroza ocellata that you can see in Manu National Park (family Tettigoniidae, Katydids) are Roxelana crassicornis (about 10%), Copiphora gracilis (about 10%) and Conocephalus versicolor (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pterochroza ocellata is recorded against all the insects logged in Manu National Park (28 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
