When we think of the world’s most cunning animals, what springs to mind?
One species has such a reputation for sneakiness that it has spawned its own simile: as sly as a fox. But if we delve deep enough, we can find endless examples of craftiness, deception and dishonesty in nature. Treachery and treason, there’s always an excuse for it. And, as The Traitors has taught us, fooling others into believing something that isn’t true can be a profitable business. Sometimes, it’s the difference between life and death.
From wolves in sheep’s clothing to plants dressed as bees, here’s a look at some of the ways in which nature’s fakers and masters of disguise pull the wool over each other’s eyes.
© Robert Thompson / Nature Picture Library
Lunar hornet moth mimicking the stinging insect after which it is named.
Sheep in wolf’s clothing
In nature, bright colours can serve as a warning that an animal is venomous or poisonous. Predators learn to avoid brightly coloured prey, so there are big benefits for defenceless animals that mimic dangerous ones. The harmless lunar hornet moth (pictured) disguises itself as a stinging insect. And just in case silent subterfuge isn’t enough to dissuade a hungry bird, it buzzes to make its performance even more persuasive. Tiny poison arrow frogs produce a toxin so powerful that Indigenous hunters use it on the tips of their blowpipe darts. But some flamboyant frogs such as the mimic poison dart frog (below) are, in fact, just bluffing. Similarly, the non-venomous milk snake in the Americas is a dead ringer for the highly venomous coral snake.
© Miguel / Adobestock
This dazzling mimic from Peru is far less toxic than the deadly poison dart frogs that it imitates.
Lyin’ eyes
False eyespots, known as ocelli, are a favourite form of deception in nature, particularly among butterflies and moths. Owl butterflies in the Caligo genus are named for the large, round eyespots on the underside of their hindwings, while an owl moth at rest bears a striking resemblance to the face of its namesake. When disturbed, the eyed hawkmoth flashes a pair of colourful eyespots on its hindwings to startle a potential predator. False eyes are thought to be most effective when they have a white centre that creates the impression of light reflected in a real eye.
© Tim Knight
At rest, the owl moth holds its wings so that they mimic the facial disk of an owl, complete with piercing eyes and a hooked beak.
Species that use camouflage
Sometimes, the best bluff of all is pretending not to be there. Some of the most memorable mimics use cryptic camouflage to make themselves invisible, blending in perfectly with their surroundings.
Coral reefs conceal countless sea creatures that go to great lengths to avoid detection. Pygmy seahorses perfectly camouflaged among a forest of coral. Stonefish indistinguishable from their rocky resting places. The tasselled wobbegong is a carpet shark that has taken cryptic camouflage to a whole new level. These ambush predators are virtually undetectable against the coral reef background on which they lie motionless.
The world’s rainforests are riddled with animals that look like leaves and other parts of a tree. Horned frogs hidden among the leaf litter. Crickets camouflaged as foliage, right down to the make-believe leaf veins and false holes on their wings. Thorny stick insects living up to their name so that predators won’t twig.
© Zafer Kizilkaya
A pair of pygmy seahorses hiding in plain sight among coral in Raja Ampat, Indonesia.
© Tim Knight
A camouflaged cricket, virtually invisible among the nibbled leaves in its rainforest habitat.
Untrue colours
Chameleons are renowned for being able to change colour to match whatever background they find themselves on – hence the metaphorical use of their name to describe people who repeatedly change their opinion or behaviour. However, the true master of disguise is surely the octopus, which can change colour, pattern and texture at will to render it indistinguishable from its surroundings.
Octopus, Octopus vulgaris in the Mediterranean off the coast of Türkiye. © Zafer Kizilkaya
A common octopus, one of nature's most intelligent animals, in the Mediterranean, off the coast of Türkiye.
Two heads are better than one
Automimicry refers to instances where one body part resembles another. The vast butterfly family comprising blues and hairstreaks, among others, includes many species that have a false head – consisting of fake eyes, and tail streamers that resemble antennae – on the tips of their hindwings. This is thought to help deflect predators away from the most vulnerable parts of their body, including their real head. The same adaptation is often seen among reef fish.
© Jeremy Holden / Fauna & Flora
A Lycaenid butterfly, the long-banded silverline, sporting a very convincing 'false head'.
Beware of the flowers
Nectar is a valuable food source for many insects, birds and bats, but feeding on flowers can be a hazardous business. Predators lurk in ambush, often wearing devilishly cunning floral disguises. This form of camouflage is known as aggressive mimicry. The orchid mantis bears an uncanny resemblance to the flower after which it is named, and crab spiders often match the colouring of the flowerheads where they wait patiently for their prey. One of the most spectacular exponents of this technique is the yellow eyelash viper. This small, highly venomous snake is found in Pico Bonito National Park, Honduras, as well as other forests in Central and South America. It often lies concealed among the flowers of bananas and heliconias, where it blends in perfectly.
Eyelash viper (Bothriechis schlegellii), Pico Bonito National Park, Honduras. © Juan Pablo Moreiras / Fauna & Flora
Entwined in a heliconia flower, a camouflaged eyelash viper waits to ambush an unwary hummingbird in Pico Bonito National Park, Honduras.
Tails of the unexpected
Some predators hoodwink their prey by offering them fake food. The tail tip of the spider-tailed horned viper has evolved to resemble a juicy arachnid, which it wiggles to entice a hungry bird within striking range. This form of deception, known as caudal luring, is used by other venomous snakes that rely on ambush, including the Saint Lucia fer de lance, one of the Caribbean’s deadliest snakes.
Fer De Lance (Bothrops caribbaeus) Saint Lucia IV. © Jeremy Holden / Fauna & Flora
A juvenile Saint Lucia fer de lance wiggles its worm-like, bright-yellow tail tip to entice an early bird to an untimely death.
Fishy business
Other repurposed body parts serve a similar purpose for marine predators such as the aptly named anglerfish, which dangles a modified dorsal spine over its head as a lure. This fleshy fishing rod, the illicium, is often equipped with a luminescent tip or esca (meaning ‘bait’ in Latin). Smaller fish are irresistibly drawn to the light source, which is produced by luminous bacteria living in and around the esca. When they venture close enough, they are engulfed in the anglerfish’s gaping jaws.
© Zafer Kizilkaya
The striped frogfish (Antennarius striatus), a predatory cousin of the anglerfish. Its scientific name refers to the feathery, antenna-like lure on its head, which it twitches invitingly to attract prey.
False light
Fireflies can glow in the dark, thanks to organs in their abdomen that produce light by reacting with oxygen that the insects draw into their bodies. Typically, fireflies signal to each other to attract a mate, but not all females have love on their mind. One species of firefly has learned to send out signals that fake the flashing sequence used by other species. When an unsuspecting amorous male responds to the cue, he finds himself in the clutches of a femme fatale who makes a meal of him instead.
© Nature Production / Nature Picture Library
Japanese firefly flashing from its leafy perch against a spectacular backdrop of light trails from hundreds of other fireflies in flight.
Look at me
Birds that nest in exposed areas may use diversion tactics to distract predators away from unprotected eggs or defenceless chicks. Plovers, which nest in the open, use ingenious kinds of distraction display. They feign injury, walking away from the nest with one wing hanging limp as though broken. They may also crouch on the ground at a safe distance from the nest and pretend to be incubating imaginary eggs. Plovers and other birds, including fairy-wrens in Australia, also deploy a tactic known as the ‘rodent run’, in which a bird ruffles its back feathers, crouches low and scuttles away in much the same way as a mouse or rat might try to flee a predator.
© Ady Kristanto / Fauna & Flora
Plovers nest in open habitat, and resort to a range of deceptive behaviours in order to protect their nest.
Two-faced liars
Primates and other animals known for their intelligence, such as crows and cephalopods, practise one of the most sophisticated forms of trickery, called tactical deception. Apes and monkeys are adept at ‘crying wolf’ – purposely sounding a false alarm call to divert competitors while they help themselves to food that they don’t want to share. Cuttlefish don’t change shape and colour merely to avoid predators or catch a meal. A male cuttlefish has a two-faced approach to courtship when bigger, more dominant males are around: facing the female, he presents male characteristics to her, but the rear view afforded to the larger rival behind him mimics the appearance of a female to mask his real intentions.
© Zafer Kizilkaya
Cuttlefish cunning is used to deceive rivals as well as predators and prey.
Laying a false trail
While some animals have perfected the art of throwing enemies off the scent, the great pretenders of the plant kingdom use perfume to mess with the minds of pollinators.
Bee orchids give off misleading signals to attract pollinating insects. Fooled by a pheromone-packed scent, a male bee is lured to a flower that resembles a female bee. While trying to mate with the flower, the bee picks up pollen, which he unwittingly deposits on the next orchid when he repeats his mistake.
Dirty rotten scoundrels
When it blooms, Rafflesia arnoldi produces the single largest individual flower in the world, which emits a vile aroma, similar to rotten meat. The blood-red colour and texture of the plant’s giant petals make the meat mimicry even more convincing.
The stinking bloom – which is also known as the corpse flower – acts as an airborne clarion call for flies and beetles that feed on dead flesh. These insects pick up pollen on their feet while searching for a meal or a place to lay their eggs. They then fly to another phony flower, doubling their own disappointment while servicing the needs of the putrid-smelling plant.
© Zafer Kizilkaya
A bee orchid flower shaped and patterned in the form of a female bee draws in pollinators under false pretences.
© Jeremy Holden / Fauna & Flora
Rafflesia, the world’s biggest flower, produces an unpleasant perfume to attract pollinators. The putrid smell of rotting flesh is a magnet for flies and other carrion-loving insects.
Stay faithful to nature
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