Exhibition "In the Forests of Borneo"
Insects of Borneo
video transcription
The first nights passed in the primeval forest can never be forgotten (...) The intense darkness was lit up from time to time by brilliant intermittent flashes-the love-lights of enormous fireflies. On the surface of the ground the darkness of night unveils a world which the light of the sun only hides by day.
Odoardo Beccari, 1902
In the rainforests of Borneo, among the richest and most diverse on the planet, an extraordinary variety of insects thrives. From notably sized and vividly colored butterflies to mighty armored beetles, and even stick insects blending seamlessly with the branches, each species tells a story of adaptation to life in the jungle. Many are endemic and still little known: every exploration unveils new forms of life, a testament to a biodiversity that is as fascinating as it is fragile. Borneo’s insects are not only hidden protagonists of the forest but also valuable indicators of its remarkable biological complexity.
Selection of specimens on display. Insects of Borneo (Natural History Museum of Florence).
An overview of the diversity of shapes and colors of Bornean insects. Natural History Museum of Florence, Zoology Collections. In the photo:
1 Chalcosoma atlas; 2 Ornithoptera croesus; 3 Trogonoptera brookiana; 4 Chrysochroa fulminans; 5 Actias maenas; 6 Sagra sp. ♂; 7 Chalcosoma atlas; 8 Odontolabis femoralis ♂; 9 Odontolabis femoralis ♀; 10 Allotopus moellenkampi ♀; 11 Allotopus moellenkampi ♀; 12 Prosopocoilus occipitalis ♂; 13 Prosopocoilus occipitalis ♀; 14 Batocera rubus; 15 Indet.; 16 Eutrachelus temmincki ♀; 17 Eutrachelus temmincki ♀; 18 Batocera thomsoni; 19 Mormolyce phyllodes; 20 Cyclommatus tarandus; 21 Hexarthrius elongatus ; 22 Clerota rigifica ; 23 Kallima inachus ; 24 Odontolabis castelnaudi ♀; 25 Catoxantha opulenta; 26 Attacus atlas; 27 Danaus genutia; 28 Hypolimnas bolina; 29 Euploea mulciber; 30 Hoplocerambyx spinicornis; 31 Chrysochroa bicolor; 32 Odontolabis castelnaudi ♂