Leo Lanna

Artist, Entrepreneur, Environmentalist, Explorer, Gay, Photographer, Project manager, Scientist, Startup

Leo Lanna searches for praying mantises in tropical rainforests. With a flashlight and camera, he unveils a vibrantly alien universe of wonder. Leo has been leading expeditions in Amazonia and the Atlantic Rainforest since 2015, with support from organizations such as National Geographic and Greenpeace. While still at university, he founded Projeto Mantis – an independent research, conservation and wildlife photography organization intended to capture, understand and disseminate the mysterious diversity of the rainforest. Much of the time, this involves hanging out in pitch darkness. A National Geographic Explorer, Lanna brings together rigorous scientific methods, photography and poetry to search for praying mantises and understand more about them. That includes living closely with the insects, as he and his team look after every mantis collected for research until its natural death.

Expeditions in tropical rainforests, looking for praying mantises and photographing wildlife • Natural history and animal behavior in their habitat • Combining science, art and technology to research Amazonia and other jungles • Connecting people to the world of insects • Studio Ghibli movies • Brazilian popular music and Tropicalia • Video games, especially from the 90's/2000's

When night’s veil covers Earth, rainforests become a new dimension, where a spectacular and ephemeral reality arises. Creatures that surpass imagination, but are real, extremely alive, and endangered. There is no identical night, with the endless biodiversity sheltered by Amazonia and other tropical jungles. Scientists and artists, technologists and future leaders should all turn their eyes to this universe, because that's where the core of our biodiversity lives and so should live our heart and inspiration.

Biology, Conservation, Entomology, Photography, Poetry, Science Communication

Writing poetry, playing video games