In nature, every creature has its own laws of survival, and mimicry is one of the commonly used means.
Mimesis, simply put, is a creature that imitates the appearance of other creatures or objects to fool predators, and the leaf-tailed shougong that looks like a dead leaf is a master of mimesis.
Today I would like to introduce you to a more excellent mimetic creature than the leaf-tailed palace, the Hermorio Pres caterpillar, which disguises itself as a poisonous snake.
Hermorio Pres caterpillar is a larvae of a caterpillar in the family Lycaenidae that is found in many parts of South, Africa and Central America.
By chance, scientists photographed this magical creature, and at first glance at this photo, you will find that a snake with poisonous features lurks in the leaves, however, if you look closely, you will find that the length of this "snake" is abnormally short.
As we all know, caterpillars are soft all over the body, there is no good defense system, coupled with the high protein content in the body, it can be said that caterpillars are the ideal food for many animals, so in order to scare off predators, caterpillars choose to disguise themselves as poisonous snakes.
Perfect reproduction: I imitate your face not only, but also your eyes and shine.
When disturbed, the larvae unfold the first part of the front of the body, like a snake's head with black eyes, and even produce a reptile-specific scaly effect.
The transformation of the caterpillar is not an easy task, because the "snake face" grows on the abdomen.
First, the caterpillar must throw itself backwards, twisting its body, exposing its abdomen, revealing a color similar to that of a snake.
Secondly, after the posture is in place, the caterpillar inhales through a small hole in the side of the body (called a valve), pumps air into the body, and the body begins to expand, changing shape, forming a snake "face" at the top, and the eyes on the "face" also slowly open.
How does the snake's eye imitation work?
It can be said that the Hermorio Pres caterpillar was born to copy snakes because it is born with "eye spots".
Many animals have pronounced eye-shaped spots, and in most animals, these "eye spots" are thought to be used to intimidate predators from attacking, or to deviate from vulnerable body parts during predation.
This "eye spot" can help prey by mimicking the predator's eye, a survival strategy that is particularly effective for butterflies and moth-like caterpillars.
In general, caterpillars with eye spots are born to imitate snakes, and when birds attack, they are often mistaken for dangerous snakes and give up attacking.
At last
To quickly scare away predators, this harmless caterpillar mimics not only the snake's face, but also the snake's movements.
It moves its body, posing as snakes attacking, caterpillars from other species, and even making noise through the valves to scare off predators.
In general, if you want to survive in nature, you can't do it without creativity.