The panda ant is neither a panda nor an ant—it’s a wasp native to Chile.
Photograph by Chris Lukhaup
The caterpillar of the sphinx hawk moth, photographed here in Peru, mimics a venomous snake to scare predators away.
Photograph by Mark Bowler, Minden Pictures
The alligator bug, photographed here in Colombia, uses the hollow structure on its head to trick predators into thinking it’s a reptile.
Photograph by Thomas Marent, Minden Pictures/Nat Geo Image Collection
Golden bee flies, like this one on an alpine aster flower in Northern California, passes itself off as a bee in order to lay eggs in bees’ nests.
Photograph by Tim Lamán, Nat Geo Image Collection
The spots of the leopard crab, photographed here at the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab and Aquarium in Florida, help it blend into the ocean floor.
Photograph by Joël Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
The Hercules beetle’s crab-like pincer helps it fight off competitors.
Photograph by Gerry Ellis, Minden Pictures/Nat Geo Image Collection
This venomous coral snake, photographed at the Riverbanks Zoo in South Carolina, has a lookalike. The similarly coloured nonvenomous scarlet king snake tricks predators into staying away.
Photograph by Joël Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
