Animals using camouflage

A few of the animals I have photographed using camouflage.

If you want to survive in the wild, you have to be good at something, and more than one thing is better.  Sometimes it is in reproduction; many insects produce thousands of offspring with the hope that a few will survive to breed.  Others rely on speed that is used to elude predators or to catch prey.  Then there are those involved with chemical mechanisms that kill or harm would-be predators.  They often boast bright colours as a warning to others, "Eat me at your peril."

And then there are those that are all but invisible.  Organisms that blend so well into their environment that they are almost impossible to see.  If it wasn't for their movement, you wouldn't notice them at all.

Such was the case for all the creatures I photographed above.  The sole was photographed at the Maui Marine Center; I didn't even see it until it started to swim.  I found the crab while visiting Fiji.  Every once in a while a wist would catch my peripheral vision, but I couldn't find what caused it.  It took a lot of searching before I discovered what the spectre was.  I photographed the mayfly in a small pool of water isolated from a stream.  If it hadn't moved, I wouldn't have spotted it.

Hiding in plain sight has a lot of advantages.  You don't have to expend a lot of energy searching for cover or risk its loss from the aggressive actions of others.  If you are a predator, you can hide in the open and wait for a meal to come by.

Some creatures have the ability to change their colour and skin texture as well, the best being some species of octopus.  There is a good example here.

Isn't nature wonderful?

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com