You know the old saying, “Red touching yellow can kill a fellow, Red touching black is safe for Jack.” This common saying tells what the coloration patterns of snakes mean. In the environment, animals’ colors can mean many different things. What do you think of when you see bright orange and black stripes? Do you stay far away or approach to take a closer look? Well, like the old saying goes, some colors can indicate a creature being venomous, while other patterns indicate no harm. This phenomenon is due to evolution, so that animals are better able to survive. Over time, colors and appearances of animals evolve in order to work best for them in specific environments. For the cinnabar moth caterpillars, their colors serve a very important purpose, or purposes I should say.
The cinnabar moth caterpillars have a distinct coloration pattern. With bright orange and black stripes, these caterpillars are built for survival. This pattern keeps birds from eating the caterpillars. The coloration pattern warns birds and indicates an unpalatable taste. This works out well for the caterpillars because they don’t need to take any additional action to protect themselves from those birds. Their conspicuous appearance handles that on its own.
Warning birds is not the only function of the cinnabar moth caterpillars colors though. In addition to cautioning birds from eating them, the orange and black stripes can also act as camouflage in some cases. Up close, the distinct coloration keeps birds away, however, from a distance, these colors allow the caterpillars to blend into their surroundings. These caterpillars are well protected from all angles. In most cases, an animals’ colors only serve one purpose, but evolution worked its wonders for the cinnabar moth caterpillars. The duel purpose of the black and orange keep the caterpillars safe from predators naturally. Just by sporting this distinct coloration pattern, these caterpillars are well adapted for survival in the wild.
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