Nowlistentopartofalecturefromabiologyclass.
(male)There’salargetropicalinsectcalledthePeanutBug.Yes,likethepeanutsyoueat.Um,andthePeanutBugsfrontwingsarecoloredsotheyblendinwiththeirsurroundings.Butitsbackwings,whichareusuallyclosedandhidden,havethesebrightcolorfulspotsonthem.AndwhenthePeanutBugsareattacked,itsuddenlyopensitsbackwingsandoutpopthesebrightcolors.AndthatsurprisesthepredatorandgivesthePeanutBugachancetogetaway.
Um,thenyouhaveabutterflycalledthemorphobutterfly.Andpartsofthemorphobutterflywingsareveryshiny.Theyreflectalotofsunlight.Whenthisbutterflyisresting,thisshinypartofitswingsishidden.Nowmorphobutterfliesareoftenattackedbybirds.Sowhenabirdapproaches,themorphofliesaway.Andwhenthemorphoflapsitswings,allthebirdcanseeareflashesoflightreflectedfromthemorpho’swings.Thoseflashesoflightmakeitverydifficultforthebirdtofollowthemorpho.Andthemorphoisusuallyabletogetaway.
Using the example of the Peanut Bug and the morpho butterfly, explain the concept of revealing coloration.
Many animals use sudden revealing of their body color to protect themselves. There're two examples. The first one is peanut bug. The peanut bug has colored front wings so they blend in with the environment. But its back wings have bright colorful spots on them. Usually the back wings are closed and hidden. But once the bug is attacked, they suddenly pop it out and reveal the bright colors. This surprises the predators so the peanut bug can get away. The second one is morpho butterfly, which has special wings whose shiny parts are usually hidden when it's resting. But if a bird approaches, the morpho flies away. While taking off, its wings open and the flashes of light reflected from the wings block the bird's view to prevent it from following the morpho. (137 words)
