How powerful is natural selection in causing animals to hide in their environments? How close can it get them to the “optimum”—complete resemblance to something inedible? Have a look at this Phalera bucephala!
And be sure to look at each picture separately: just go the original tw**t, click on the left picture, and follow the right arrows.
#Moths are amazing!!! Have you ever seen anything looking more like a twig than this beautiful Buff tip?! #WILDLIFE pic.twitter.com/yHBhiU3gid
— Brigit Strawbridge Howard (@B_Strawbridge) July 10, 2016
h/t: Matthew Cobb (on holiday in Wales)
Does it grow up to be a nightjar?
No, not a nightjar…a poplar.
Extraordinary!
Sadly, after the picture was taken, the moth was picked up by a bird looking for nesting materials.
Hahaha
Hee hee hee.
Or a boy scout who started a campfire with it.
In the woods recently, looking for spring warblers, I saw my first ever Brown Creeper. The little thing was moving at a good pace up the tree but wasn’t noticeable at first because his feather pattern, even his fanned tail feathers that kept him balanced on his climb, looked just like the tree bark.
Suddenly he dropped from the tree, and I swear he “fluttered” like a dry falling leaf and landed near the base of a nearby tree. So not only was his coloration camouflage but so was his behavior! I’ve never seen anything like it before. Behavioral camo–falling, not flying, to the next tree!
Fantastic images!
Carl Kruse