20th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Draw a circle

At the night in Nonggang National Reserve, Guangxi Province, China, Aplosonyx nigriceps Yang knew that the leaves of Alocasia macrorhiza secreted toxin alkaloids, so he adopted a smart and flexible tactic when eating the leaves of Alocasia macrorhiza, which was called "drawing circles". It drew circles about 3cm in diameter on the leaves of Alocasia macrorhiza, cut off the leaves' meridians to transmit toxins, and then it ate the leaves without poison in the circle.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 04.2019
Date Uploaded: 11.2022
Photo Location: Chongzuo City, China
Camera: NIKON D500
Copyright: © Yuan Minghui