





Source: http://www.fantasticpestcontrol.co.uk/pest-profiles/bees/



4. The Atlas Moth's Wings Imitating A Cobra







Source: Flickr







This blew my mind a bit when I first saw it, I gotta admit.



4. The Lygodium Spider Moth Imitating A Spider







ource: Featured Creature





Maybe.. if I'm drunk and sitting at least a few feet away. Points for playing, though.



6. The Phyllium Giganteum not even imitating, but practically BEING a walking leaf







Source: Smithsonian on Flickr



7. The Phasmatodea Imitating A Stick







Source: Klaus Stiefel on Flickr



Good one, nobody wants to eat a stick.



8. The Swallowtail Caterpillar imitating bird POOP







Source and More Info on this Awesome Creature: National Geographic



What's fascinating is this caterpillar not only looks like poo, it acts like it too - observations show that the caterpillar is careful to remain almost always at a curled up position. It's a brilliant mechanism of defense, if you ask me.



If you want to hear an excellent scientific contemplation on looking like a turd, here you go:



"The ancestral Eastern tiger swallowtail caterpillar probably looked nothing like a bird turd, and its predators probably completely ignored bird turd as a source of food. In this population a mutation occurred which made one caterpillar look 2% more turd-like than the others. Eventually the 2% turd mutation would spread throughout the population. As it becomes more common there would be selective pressure on the predator to identify things that look slightly poo-like as potential food sources. This means that if a second mutation occurred which made the caterpillar look 5% like a turd it would then spread in the same way. Selection would then favour birds able to identify these caterpillars. This could then repeat until we end up with caterpillars that look almost 100% like a bird poo and predators that can tell the difference between a 99% bird poo-like caterpillar and a real bird poo."





I seriously can't get enough of nature.



9. The Sycamore Moth Imitating Tree Lichen







Source: Unknown



And now, the winner of the "Thank you for playing" consolation prize..



10. The Monarch Butterfly Imitating an.. Owl?







It seems to be an owl that's crying because of identity theft.







