Caterpillar master of camouflage

I WAS taking a break from weeding while sitting in a chair in the garden. Beside this chair was a table and on it were a few dead leaves.

The leaves were small, yellow and oval in shape and suddenly one of them started to move. There was no breeze. I inspected the leaf more closely and it turned out to be a moth which flew away before I could register all the details. I did a bit of checking afterwards and it was probably a species called the common wainscot. It was certainly a fine example of how butterflies and moths have perfected the art of camouflage.

Caterpillars are more susceptible to being eaten than winged insects — some of them form the staple diet of many species of small bird during the breeding season. So caterpillars are the ultimate camouflage experts.