Camouflage and Mimicry

Camouflage Have you ever wondered why animals have spots, strips, or certain colors? Sometimes an animal’s colors can be a difference between life and death. Animals use their colors to blend into the environment. What is this called?

Adaptations Camouflage is a type of animal adaptation. What is an adaptation? An adaptation is something that helps animals survive better.

See if you can find the camouflaged animals in these pictures. The animals you are looking for are a deer, frog, and quail. Find the critters! Quail

Deer! Look closely to find this animal!

Can you see the frog?

Mimicry Animals may adapt using a phenotype to look like another animals. For example, non poisonous snakes will rattle their tale and flatten their head to look poisonous to a predator. This is called mimicry, where an animal tries to mimic or copy another. Which snake is poisonous? Eastern Coral Snake Scarlet King Snake Hint: "Red on yellow, kill a fellow. Red on black, won't hurt Jack." 

Other forms of mimicry… Another example of mimicry involves the Monarch butterfly, which is toxic and very nasty to eat. Its bright orange coloration is a warning to birds to leave it alone. The non-toxic Viceroy butterfly (bottom pic) has developed colors and wing patterns that are very similar to those of the monarch and so most birds won’t take a chance by taste-testing it!