Mimicry is the highest form of flattery

While visiting the Sony photographer of the year exhibition in London this weekend I was drawn to a series of photographs which appeared to depict plants being held in laboratory clamps. My first guess was that the photos  documented some kind of avant garde botany project, using genetic manipulation to change the genus of plants. In fact the real explanation was even more interesting, the photographs were taken by scientists involved in The Phylliidae Project, an international scientific discipline which aims to breed and manipulate leaf mimicking insects for entry into a yearly competition. From the images on display it was clear the standard is already remarkably high, it was actually impossible to see where the insects began and the plants ended. I wished a video clip had been included as part of the LCD information panel to the side of the photos, in which a gradually changing perspective would slowly allow the insect to be distinguished from the surrounding leaves.

The idea of scientists breeding insects, manipulating the DNA either directly or by altering the diet and living conditions of the insects, is endlessly fascinating. Human beings have long selectively bred animals to better meet our needs, or in the case of domestic animals for aesthetics, however the level of sophistication and detail involved in the leaf insect breeding surpasses anything you would see in a dog show. Another fact that caught my imagination is that all Phylliidae eggs are identical, despite the huge variation in appearance of the insects.

Given the constant miniaturisation of technology and a recent article I read about scientists attempting to control the behaviour of insects remotely, it leads me to wonder how long it will be before cameras fitted to custom ordered leaf insects are used for spying. Insects genetically altered to blend exactly into brickwork, or the specific rock formations found in the mountains of Afghanistan are used to film and listen to the conversations of terrorist groups or rebel organisations, or even sent to spy on the spouse of a jealous lover.