Many insects pretend to be something they are not. Entomologist Dr. Art Evans and VPM radio producer Steve Clark explore camouflage and other related defense strategies that help insects to hide in plain sight. Some insects are brightly and boldly colored, but most species are more somber in coloration. These species rely on some form of crypsis, such as camouflage, to conceal themselves and avoid becoming food for hungry predators. Grasshoppers, katydids, and stink bugs, among other insects, are usually found on specific backgrounds in their environment such as leaves, sand, and bark, that match their colors and help them seem to disappear.

For insects, it is all about eating or being eaten. To avoid becoming meals themselves, many insects engage in cryptic behaviors, including camouflage and mimesis, to avoid detection. Still, others engage in forms of mimicry by resembling species that predators find harmful in some way.