Cool Camouflage
Camouflage comes from the French word camouflager which means to "blind or veil". Some insects and animals use camouflage as an effective way to protect themselves from natural enemies. Birds, bats, moles, frogs and other animals consider some insects to be a very tasty treat. Insects protect themselves in many ways, one of these ways is by disguising themselves so that they blend into their surroundings. Some caterpillars and walkingstick insects are camouflaged to look like twigs. Some insects are patterned to look like the background where they live, they may look like the bark of a tree, the leaves of a plant, some even look like soil!
Sometimes harmless insects look ferocious, frightening their enemies. One example is the hickory horned devil. This large caterpillar scares away its enemies by its appearance. Mimicry is when insects fool their enemies by looking like an insect that is dangerous or bad tasting. A hornet fly has the markings of a hornet, but has no stinger. Predators who have had their mouths stung by a hornet do not try to eat hornets again, nor do they try to catch the hornet fly!
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