Mont Aorai, Tahiti

(Image credit: James Kenneth Liebherr)The steep slopes of Tahitian mountains isolate insect communities by creating physical barriers between ridges, and by being vulnerable to rain and erosion that fragments populations and leads to species divergence.

Bug catching in the rainforest

(Image credit: James Kenneth Liebherr)The researchers, led by a Cornell entomologist, first spray low foliage with an organic chemical and then collect the bugs on a white sheet.

Mecyclothorax muriauxi

(Image credit: James Kenneth Liebherr)

Mecyclothorax kayballae

(Image credit: James Kenneth Liebherr)

Mecyclothorax taatitore

(Image credit: James Kenneth Liebherr)