Nature’s cleverest tricksters and masters of disguise – revealed!
Today, children the UK-over will be donning scary costumes and indulging in a little trick-or-treating for Halloween. But for the natural world, tricks and disguises are part of every day survival.
Perfect prankstersCuckoos are the ultimate tricksters, laying their eggs in the nests of other birds so that the foster parent will bring up their young for them. Cuckoo eggs even mimic the colour of the host bird’s own brood. This is developed over time, as different cuckoos stick to their chosen host bird down the generations. So a cuckoo reared amongst the blue eggs of a dunnock nest will lay hers in a dunnock’s nest too.
And the prize for best costume goes to... Evolution has created the perfect ‘fancy-dress’ outfit for the lunar hornet moth, which appears to predators as a dangerous wasp. The black and red ladybird spider also mimics its namesake in order to sneak up on unsuspecting prey - and the black hairstreak caterpillar has made sure it isn’t mistaken for a tasty treat by evolving to look like bird poo!
Scariest maskPeacock butterflies have developed large ‘eye’ spots on their wings to confuse and intimidate predators. While the grey, bark-like colouring on their undersides allow them to ‘disappear’ when at rest on a branch or trunk.
Zombie snakesGrass snakes not only present a convincing display of looking dead to trick predators – rolling onto their sides, mouths open, tongues lolling – they can also produce a foul stench and even secrete blood from their mouth and nose!
Distraction tacticsNesting lapwing, along with other waders and plovers, may fake a broken wing when a predator is nearby to lure it away from its defenseless chicks.
Why not try something different this Halloween?