ZoOLogy > What's This? Colorful Creatures

Ever wonder why so many insects are green? If you’re a delicious, defenseless insect like this katydid (Championica montana), it pays not to get noticed. And green animals are harder to spot on green plants!

Animals often use color to hide from predators. In this case, both the color and shape of the katydid make it look like the moss and lichen around it. Blending in with the background is called camouflage , and it can help keep the katydid from getting eaten.

Nature isn’t all green leaves. Many animals blend in with different color backgrounds. For example, brown is a common color for tree trunks and dry or decaying plants. And the ocean floor is often full of colorful corals. 

Can you find the camouflaged animals here?

The owl moth, scorpion fish, and snipe all use camouflage to help them survive. Their color, pattern, and texture help them blend into their environments.

Sometimes it’s better NOT to blend in with the background. Many animals use eye-catching colors to scare off predators. Ladybugs, for example, contain chemicals that birds dislike. Once predators learn to associate this bad taste with the color red, they avoid eating ladybugs.

But don’t be fooled… Not all bright-colored animals are poisonous. For some, the color is a bluff: they evolved to look toxic, even though they aren’t. This is actually a picture of a non-toxic cockroach (Prosoplecta) that looks like a toxic ladybug! Looking like something you’re not is called mimicry.

Color is not just used to hide from hunters. Predators also use color to help them hunt.

The orchid mantis is an insect that tricks its victims by mimicking a harmless flower. Its color and shape attract insects that come seeking nectar, only to be seized and eaten.

Colors also help some animals, like the fan-throated lizard, recognize their own species for mating.

During breeding season, a male lizard will try to attract female attention. First it climbs to higher ground and arches its back upwards. Then it displays its dewlap, a fan-shaped fold of skin on its throat, by puffing it out into a colorful fan.

Countless creatures all across the tree of life use color for courtship.

Reptiles, mammals, insects, fish, and birds evolved bright colors that announce who they are, and how healthy they are, to potential mates.

Take a look at these colorful creatures!