How do unarmed insects and animals deceive ferocious predators?
To evade natural enemies and capture prey, they have honed the art of camouflage.
Follow the passionate Ah Jie into the forest to visit these amazing masters of invisibility.

In the natural environment, most predators rely on vision to search for prey, so the ability to avoid detection is a matter of life and death. The diverse animals on Earth, in their quest for food, reproduction, and survival, have each evolved unique skills within their respective habitats. Among these, the most deceitful are those that mimic the appearance of other creatures or their environment, such as patterns, colors similar to toxic organisms, which cause predators to misidentify and hesitate to approach, or body shapes and colors that resemble plants, rocks, and bark, making them invisible to predators and thus gaining a chance to survive.

From an ecological perspective, "protective coloration" is one of the strategies that organisms use to alter or manipulate visual signals to deceive predators and protect themselves. It can generally be divided into two categories: "camouflage" and "warning." Visual "camouflage" can usually be achieved through three main strategies to deceive predators, which are concealment (blending into the environmental background), disruptive coloration (which can disrupt the outline of the organism), and masquerade (using additional materials to prevent enemies from recognizing). "Warning" is a trait of prey that leads predators to believe that spending time hunting or chasing it is not profitable, thereby reducing attacks on that prey.

The author will first explain various basic definitions in the book, supplemented with many examples. After readers have acquired basic knowledge, the author will add some exceptions that require further research, interspersed with records of searching for various katydids in different places. The book is interesting and easy to read.

Huang Shih-Jie

Born in Taipei in 1973, Huang Shih-Jie never enjoyed school as a child and was more interested in nature observation. He only completed his compulsory education (highest degree: Datong Junior High School) before entering the job market. The year he was discharged from the military, a work-related accident led to the amputation of four fingers on his right hand, which became a turning point in his life. He returned to the ecological world he had always yearned for and diligently self-studied knowledge about wildlife and plants. In recent years, he has visited countries in Southeast Asia, Africa, South America, and Australia, venturing deep into uninhabited tropical rainforests to photograph plants and animals in their natural habitats. He has served as an entomology consultant for the National Science Council's ecological films, an assistant for the National Science Council projects at National Taiwan University and Chiayi University, an ecological lecturer for "Taiwan Complete Record," and a lecturer and host for "Have Fun with Nature." He is currently the host of SET Television's "Up the Mountain, Down the Sea, Spend a Night," leading families into nature observation while focusing on natural ecological photography and writing. He is a columnist for the science section of the National Daily News and the Digital Island website of the Academia Sinica, as well as the author of the elementary school Chinese language textbook lesson "Madagascar, Let's Go!" He often shares his nature observation experiences on various social media platforms.

Publications include: "Hercules Beetle," "Insect Facebook," "Playing with Nature with Children," "The Private Life of Mantises," "A Home in the Forest," "Insects on the Menu," "Tyrant Beetle Encyclopedia," "Super Shocking Beetle King", "100 Common Insects of Hui-Sun Forest Farm" photography works, "Beetle Diary," "Stag Beetle Diary," "Beetle Diary 2," "Plant Diary," and "The Diary of Camouflaged Creatures"