And this passion has led him on a path to study the praying mantis.
There, they focused on the unknown in the forest at night.
Using UV light, they were able to reveal incredible species that are typically hidden in the darkness.
Harvestmen (Photo: Leo Lanna / National Geographic)
Read on for My Modern Mets exclusive interview.
Leo Lanna (Photo: Lvcas Fiat)
What encouraged you to begin looking at the Amazons nocturnal animals?
For six years, Ive been working with praying mantises through my independent organization Projeto Mantis.
Leo Lanna (Photo: Lvcas Fiat)
The biodiversity of the Amazon is ancient and endless.
For example, praying mantises, my specialty, were the target group for all the techniques.
and the dragon mantis (Stenophylla sp.)
Photo: Leo Lanna / Projeto Mantis
were candidates for the time-lapses.
Opossum (Photo: Leo Lanna / National Geographic)
Whats been the most surprising discovery thus far?
We are heading to over 300 species documented through the method.
Opossum (Photo: Leo Lanna / National Geographic)
Exploring creative and modern approaches to research and storytelling is always a challenge, especially in the Amazon.
The jungle is amazing and intense.
Halfway, we had to give up on the night drone flights, which were not showing any results.
Tree Frog (Photo: Leo Lanna / National Geographic)
Multidisciplinary fieldwork is really challenging, and always rewarding.
Our main goal was to creatively use technologies to reveal new ways of exploring the nighttime in the Amazon.
What we found out is that theres much, much more to be discovered and explored.
Fungus (Photo: Leo Lanna / National Geographic)
Do you have any examples of how youve seen things change over the past few years?
I havent visited the same area in the Amazon yet.
Most of the time our expeditions are looking for new areas to explore and discover.
Photo: Leo Lanna / Projeto Mantis
This is extremely worrying and sad.
I come from the Atlantic Forest, which has only 10% of its native vegetation left.
I grew up thinking the green grass hills and never-ending pastures with few fragments of forests were natural.
Photo: Leo Lanna / Projeto Mantis
I often cry when I think about it.
The Amazon still has a chance if we stop deforestation now.
How do you hope that the research helps both the scientific community as well as the public?
Photo: Leo Lanna / Projeto Mantis
And thus, they are willing to preserve and act for its conservation.
If people are interested, how can they follow along with your progress?
