This larval swallowtail butterfly’s clever disguise (left) is literally a load of crap.
In its larval stages, the Asian swallowtail—also known as the Chinese or Japanese yellow swallowtail—mimics the appearance of bird droppings to prevent predators from gobbling it up.
In its last phase of development, the insect turns green (right) to blend into the leaves on which it lives.
Source: National Geographic
This post was written by bullets on February 22, 2008
It’s crazy that evolution is actually affected by the fact that all living things find bird poop disgusting and want to avoid it. I wonder if it has anything to do with all the diseases that birds carry and spread to other animals.