A Look Stalks You Unusual World 1, 3 The Secrets of Nature

The danger of being devoured has existed since the beginning of Time and is part of the life of insects. Therefore Nature has endowed these beings with defence mechanisms, developed over millions of years, which make them less vulnerable and in which ingenuity is more important than force. These mechanisms present strategies that are as surprising as they are varied: chameleonlike modifications of bodies and appendices that lengthen or expand in order to accentuate resemblance with the surroundings; surprising imitations of a flower, the bark of a tree, a damaged and tasteless leaf camouflage so fine and diverse that only a slight movement reveals its presence to us. But sometimes the disguise is also a dangerous offensive weapon: intimidating positions that threaten the attacker; spectacular horns, related to sexual behaviour, which are so effective in the case of combat that they make the enemy flee simply before this vision of its adversarys power; warning colouration on the wings or trunks red and bl