For me, the best moments in the jungle happen when you find something utterly alien that you've never seen before. Seeing this tortoise beetle pupa (Cassidinae) was certainly one of those moments for me on the Panama trip.
Tortoise beetle larva, Cassidinae (possibly parasitized), from Panama.
Metalmark butterfly caterpillar, Anteros sp. (Riodinidae), from Panama. Its funky neon 'hat' is actually an inflated protrusion that is thought to store and disperse a noxious chemical as a method of defense.
