Why are Some Animals Brightly Coloured?

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Animals with an unpleasant taste or which are poisonous, often advertise themselves with their bright colouring. The bright colours warn the predators to avoid these animals and keep them at a bay. The cinnabar moth with its red and black bold markings is not touched by birds. The central American poison frogs have bright patterns on the body and its poison is used for arrow tips. Wasps too are brightly coloured. Some animals mimic the warning colours of other animals to avoid being hunted. A cinnabar moth caterpillar mimics a wasp's colouring and a hoverfly, too, mimics a wasp to escape being hunted by birds.

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