To evade predators, animals that are mainly insects have used very “poisonous” ways.
Camouflage is not just something “exclusive” of chameleons, which have the ability to change color lightning fast according to the color of their surroundings. But even polar bears with white fur different from grizzly bears in northwestern North America or zebras with black and white stripes are also called camouflage! And there are so many other species, it would take days to list them all.
The biggest “worry” of living things is how to protect themselves from enemies and predators that are just waiting for the opportunity to swallow themselves in an instant. Therefore, in order to survive and preserve the species, many animals (mostly weak species) in the process of evolution have added the ability to camouflage or defend themselves with toxins released from the body.
Animals camouflage themselves by blending into their surroundings perfectly, making it difficult for enemies to notice.
However, there are still some very “weird” exceptions, animals with toxins in their bodies (some frogs or snakes) choose to “advertise” themselves with extremely colorful colors, This gives predators an inherent “thought”: Don’t touch the flashy colors!
Even the army (18th and 19th centuries) in war often used light or dark colored uniforms, with impressive designs, first to “show prestige” to the enemy, then to help the enemy. “newbies” easily recognize where the enemy is, where the enemy is, the uniform color also helps to connect the armies.
Now invite everyone to watch the most eye-catching camouflage “performances” of the “masters” in nature:
The Uroplatus lizard has a skin that transforms into a variety of colors such as brown, yellow, green or orange to match its surroundings. This lizard usually hunts for insects at night.
The Uroplatus lizard’s unique camouflage helps it survive in the rainforests of Madagascar. The tail of this lizard is “extremely poisonous”, it twists like a dry leaf has fallen off a branch.
Grasshopper elephant
Stick insect
Stick beetles are also nicknamed “mobile sticks”, with a length from 11.6mm to 328mm (especially there is a “giant” stick beetle with a length of 55cm, a record for length in insects) . Stick beetles have the same shape as small branches, all you need to do to camouflage is to change the color to green or brown, depending on the type of tree leaves!
Mantis
The photo above is a picture of a ghost mantis, only 45 to 50mm in length. This species of mantis has a color distribution from brown to dark brown (almost black), with a grayish-green color as well.
The “rotten leaf” mantis Deroplatys trigonodera is quite different from its green relative. Its evolutionary appearance looks like a rotting leaf mixed in with the rainforest soil. With its prominent compound eyes and camouflage ability, the “rotten leaf” mantis is truly a professional and somewhat laid-back predator.
They hide, then after a lightning-fast launch, the thorny front legs of the “rotten leaf” mantis will rip through unsuspecting prey.
Leaf beetle
You can tell that leaf beetles get “inspiration” for camouflage from leaves. But they are “wise” and “meticulous” in that even the scorching and dying spots on the leaves are also applied by them to their “super product”.
Even when moving, leaf beetles also move forward and backward, flapping their wings continuously, making enemies think they are moving with the wind.
Dried leaf butterfly
This butterfly has perfected its camouflage ability. When they perch with their wings closed, the underside of the wing resembles a dry leaf, with the hindwing tail extending like a petiole, a brown line extending to the tip of the forewing to form a vein. When encountered, they fly very high, fast and deep into the bushes, because their wings are very similar to a dry leaf, so it is difficult to see.
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