10 Wonderful Examples Of Camouflage In Nature
If I could be any animal in the world I’d probably plump for a golden eagle or something along those lines. In reality, knowing my luck I’d come back as something that sucked up decaying whales at the deepest, blackest point in the ocean. But whatever I came back as I’d hope that I was good at hiding myself, nature is a violent place to be. Being able to blend into your surroundings and become functionally invisible must be a bit of a buzz.
Obviously an animal that tastes good is going to need some sort of defence. Some critters go for poison, or spikes, or living in deep holes. Others go for camouflage. Over millions of years these delicious morsels have been selectively bred to become one with their surroundings.
Have a look through these masters of disguise and be rightfully amazed…
1) Common Baron Caterpillar
This caterpillar is a wizard of disguise. Euthalia aconthea lives in India and Southeast Asia. When they grow up they look like this…
2) Tawny Frogmouth
These Australian owl-like birds are nocturnal and popular with farmers thanks to their diet which consists almost exclusively of “pest” species. The disguise doesn’t work quite so well when there’s a group of them, but it’s still pretty cool looking:
3) Katydid
Katydid, also known as bush crickets, long-horned grasshoppers or Tettigoniidae consist of around 6,400 separate species, many of which are awesome at hiding from predators. As far as succesful species go, these guys have done pretty well. They’re found on all of the continents except Antarctica, although they’re more common in tropical regions.
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