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Do True Albino Insects Exist?

I belatedly came across a newsstory about finding several unusual colours in the same species of katydid at the same time...


They were reported to the local museum, luckily, and here's the blog which carried the above photo plus an English translation of the original story...
http://www.pinktentacle.com/2007/09/pink-white-katydids-found-in-osaka/#comments

All of which got me to thinking...have genuine albino insects ever been confirmed or are specimens like this 'white' katydid just an extreme example of leucism, with some pigmentation still remaining, albeit in very slight amounts? My pet house cricket gang sometimes spawns the odd leucistic individual--the black/brown patterning is lightened to reddish brown/yellow, which is quite pretty--and of course everyone's quite pale when they're freshly molted, but this katydid...I have to admit that it's the whitest abnormally 'white' insect I've ever seen...

I am not really sure but here
I am not really sure but here is a picture of a Katydid *ID anyone?* that my mom found this summer. I thought it was pretty cool because I had never seen anything like this before.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2285/2172416975_3514f7a1e4_b.jpg

 
Interesting discussion...
A quick web search reveals multiple comments (incl. one from our own Eric Eaton!) that suggest that there are no "true" albino insects as they have a chitinous exoskeleton and not a vertebrate skin with melanocytes. The whitish/pale ones are all newly molted individuals, I guess, as the original poster mentioned?

 
Maybe not in that sense...
but I'm sure there are plenty of examples of insects that lack all pigmentation. The fact that cave-dwelling species have evolved this way suggests it could happen by random genetic mutation.

 
Just Pale, I Think...
The 'white' katydid in the photo looks plumped out and hardened up enough to me that even if he or she did recently molt, it happened long enough ago that I'd expect this insect to be showing some colour by now. I can make out a bit of grey streaking on the back of the thorax right where the other two individuals are darker and a bit of grey on 'Whitie's' feet, however, so...maybe just a REALLY pale individual after all. Whatever the explanation, it's still striking to see!

The closest-to-genuine albino insect I've found myself is this recently discovered Nocticola australiensise...
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/cave-may-hold-missing-link/2007/03/21/1174153159560.html

Rather 'tannish' looking, but then I've seen so-called albino cave fish for sale in pet shops who sport much the same shade. Cavers have also recently discovered some albino millipedes. Not insects, obviously, yet still neat and about as 'white' as I think it can get for our little spineless friends...
http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0305-millipedes.html

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