Camouflage
in the Overwintering Colonies
By Elizabeth Howard
We asked, "How does the resting position of a monarch
help to camouflage the butterfly in the oyamel forest? In your answer,
include the names of the wing surfaces that are important for camouflage."
First graders in Ferrisburgh, VT noted carefully: “When it is resting,
the butterfly folds its wings, so that the hindwing is covering the forewing.
That makes the butterfly smaller and harder to see. The underside of the
wing is gray like a piece of bark. The top side is bright orange. The
butterfly looks like a piece of bark until it opens its wings. When they
are flying or eating, they look like flowers because their wings are so
bright and pretty.”
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| The undersides of Monarch wings. |
Resting Monarchs with folded wings. |
Can you see the dull tips of the forewings? |
What great observers! Inspect the photo on the left carefully. You are seeing only the undersides of the wings. Look how brightly colored most of the underside of the forewing is. However, did you notice that the tip of the forewing is dull? Now look at the photo on the right. When monarchs fold their wings, they cover most of the forewings. Only the dull tips of the undersides of the forewings show.
