Many types of herbivorous (plant-eating) insects have developed bodies that blend into the plants that they eat. For example, many caterpillars are green so that they can blend in with the green leaves that they eat. This form of camouflage helps prevent hungry birds from seeing and eating the caterpillars. I have personal experience with caterpillar camouflage, because I had a garden growing up. We used to grow tomatoes in my garden, and we would often have trouble with tomato worms (a type of caterpillar) eating the tomato plants. My sister and I would spend a long time searching for the tomato worms, so that we could move them to prevent them from destroying the tomatoes. Other herbivorous insects have taken camouflage to a much higher level. If you’ve ever seen a leaf bug or a stick bug, you know what I’m talking about (or maybe you missed them because they are so hard to see). These type of insects have bodies that are shaped and colored like leaves and sticks so that no predators (or people) will be able to find them.
As you have learned, it can be a hard life when you are an herbivore. These animals face many problems, such as not having food in the winter and the threat of being eaten. However, herbivores have found many solutions to these problems that help them stay alive.
Here is a Tomato Worm, also very hard to see when hiding on tomato plants. .
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