Animal defense mechanisms include a stunning array of behaviors and adaptations. Defensive behavior of prey takes four forms: anti-detection, anti-at-tack, anti-capture, and anti-consumption. Every animal has perfected some form of anti-predator adaptation, whether they attempt to go undetected by camouflaging themselves against their surroundings, or keep themselves from being eaten because they are wildly colored and dangerous-looking.

Camouflage and Mimicry

Cryptic coloration and behavior, also known as camouflage and mimicry, are common methods of anti-detection in insects, birds, fish, amphibians, and mammals. Combining camouflage with hiding behavior is a phenomenon widely used among insects. Cryptic moths and butterflies have wing colors and patterns that mimic the plants found in their environments. The Catocala moth has whitish wings with dark linear patterns resembling birch bark so that when it rests upon a birch tree it is barely detectable.