What are Crypsis, Camouflage and Mimicry?

Crypsis is the ability of an animal to avoid observation using camouflage, nocturnality, subterranean habitat, transparency and mimicry. Camouflage is where the organism acquires physical characteristics in colour and sometimes form to allow it to blend in with it's environment. Unlike camouflage, mimicry requires that its model be another living organism. Collectively this is known as a mimicry complex. The basic premise is to provide an advantage to the mimic to help it successfully hunt or defend itself against predators. The impressive colours of butterflies play an important part in the self-defence of the butterfly. Eye-spots typically found on the underside of the wings are a familiar pattern, mimicking the eyes of larger animal like owls , thus scaring the predators away. Butterflies which are coloured bright red or bright yellow are usually poisonous or taste bad to the predator. The bright colours are a reminder of a bad experience and usually already form a part of the predator's genetic memory and they instinctively know to stay away. Many butterflies with spectacular colours on their top wings have dull coloured undersides that help them to hide from the predators. With wings closed, they are barely perceptible.When the caterpillars feed on poisonous plants the poison stays in their bodies even through the pupal stage onto the adult butterfly. These butterflies (like the Monarch) always have a striking colour pattern on their wings and it protects them from predators. Other butterflies that are not poisonous or inedible utilize this by mimicking the appearance of the species that are poisonous.

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