Text 3:

Have you ever wondered why soldiers are always clad in green? This is to enable them to camouflage
themselves during wartime. Hiding in the jungles, their green attire blend into the surrounding
trees and shrubs, making it difficult for the enemies to spot them.

Long before man make use of camouflaging, insects have already adopted the tactic of disguise to
escape from the clutches of their predators. By having body colors close to those of the rocks and
dried leaves, they catch less attention from the predators and hence escape from being pursued.
However, this kind of disguise works only if the insects remain still in the presence of their
predators.

Butterflies and moths have developed a variety of camouflage strategies since they are quite
defenceless and their predators - birds are abundant in supply. Many moth caterpillars resemble
dead twigs while the young of certain species of butterflies appear like bird droppings. Adult
butterflies and moths camouflage themselves too, in attempts to escape from their hunters -- birds
who are superior gliders. Possessing wings which resemble dried leaves help certain butterflies and
moths to hide among heaps of dried leaves when predators are around.

Fortunately, not all insects choose the art of disguise to escape from their predators; otherwise,
the world would be so dull and colorless. There are insects which assimilate the bright body colors
of bees and wasps to escape from being pursued by their predators. The concept of mimicry was
derived, owing to the bees and wasps. Long ago, birds have already learnt to avoid brilliantly
colored wasps and bees in fear of their painful stings. Hence, over millions of years, many
harmless insects have assimilated the bees and wasps by imitating their bright body colors and
shapes. In this way, they appear dangerous to their predators and hence ward them off.

Mimics of the wasps and bees are most commonly found in the gardens. The furry, plump bee-fly not
only appears like the bumble bee in terms of body colors, even its hums sound similar too. The only
difference is that the bee-fly does not have a sting and is hence harmless. The hoverfly is another
insect which imitates the body colors of the wasps. Their bodies are striped yellow and black. The
only deviations are that hoverflies do not have stings and they have only one pair of wings each
while wasps have two pairs each. These variations are hardly noticed by the predators and hence
help them to escape.


Summary 3:


1. Camouflaging and mimicry ………………………………………………………

2. Camouflaging requires insects to ……………………………………………………….

3. The moth caterpillars look ……………………………….. while …………………………………………………..

4. Some butterflies…………………………………………………………………….

5. Mimicry requires harmless insects to ………………………………………………….

6. Predators usually avoid them, thinking……………………………………………….

7. The bee-fly and hoverfly assimilate ……………………………………………………..