How do butterflies defend themselves from their enemies?

Butterflies protect themselves from predators through a variety of tricks. The most common among them is the chemical defense. Many plants contain poisonous substances to protect themselves from creatures that eat them. Butterflies use these poisonous elements in the plants to protect themselves from enemies. This has led to the evolution of bright colors in unpalatable butterflies.

Camouflage is another technique that butterflies use to escape from their enemies. Camouflage is the technique of blending with the color of the surroundings to hide from enemies. We all might have seen butterflies that look like the leaf of a tree, or a twig in a branch. Such varieties as the Oakleaf butterfly and autumn leaf butterfly use this camouflage technique.

Some others have deimatic behavior, such as waving their front ends marked with eyespots as if they were snakes.