---
title: "Camouflage, warning colours, and mimicry"
description: "Camouflage, warning colours, and mimicry: how insects survive by hiding or sending visual signals. Stick insects look like twigs, leaf insects look like leaves. Wasps have warning stripes; hoverflies "
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/camouflage-warning-colours-and-mimicry-mt_07Geg7LITa
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/camouflage-warning-colours-and-mimicry-mt_07Geg7LITa.md
retrieved: 2026-10-19
---

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# Camouflage, warning colours, and mimicry

Camouflage, warning colours, and mimicry: how insects survive by hiding or sending visual signals. Stick insects look like twigs, leaf insects look like leaves. Wasps have warning stripes; hoverflies mimic wasps but are harmless. The 'can you spot it?' challenge.

Subject: Science · Area: Insects & Minibeasts · Ages 7 to 9
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/camouflage-warning-colours-and-mimicry-mt_07Geg7LITa

## Ready when they can

- Give at least two examples of insect camouflage such as stick insects resembling twigs or leaf insects resembling leaves
- Explain why bright warning colours like a wasp's yellow and black stripes help the insect survive
- Describe mimicry by explaining that a harmless insect like a hoverfly copies a dangerous one like a wasp to trick predators

## Lesson: Hiding, warning, and tricking: insect survival tricks

Insects use three clever tricks to stay safe. They can hide by looking like something else, they can flash bright colours to say 'stay away,' or they can copy a dangerous insect even though they are harmless.

*(drawing: Our three tricks in order: hide like a stick insect, warn like a wasp, and copy like a hoverfly.)*

**Example.** A stick insect sits on a branch. Its long thin body and brown colour make it look just like a twig. A leaf insect has flat green wings shaped like leaves, with lines that look like a leaf's veins. Both insects hide by looking like plants, so hungry birds walk right past them.

Some insects do the opposite of hiding. A wasp has bright yellow and black stripes. Those colours are a warning sign that says 'I can sting, leave me alone.' Animals learn to remember those stripes and stay away, so the wasp is left in peace.

**Tip.** Look closely before you decide an insect is dangerous. A hoverfly has yellow and black stripes just like a wasp, but it has no sting at all. It copies the wasp's colours to trick birds into leaving it alone too. This trick is called mimicry.

**Recap.** Insects stay safe by hiding like camouflage, warning with bright colours, or mimicking a dangerous insect's look.

## Practice

8 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Needs first

- [The insect body plan](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/the-insect-body-plan-mt_oNWXXAn3cn)

## Opens up

- [Insect Adaptations](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/insect-adaptations-mt_7_XXh9NCp0)
- [Insect anatomy in depth](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/insect-anatomy-in-depth-mt_Oz8yNPNtub)