The colorful patterns on butterflies' wings strike us as attractive, so it can be hard to accept that they often serve to repulse and deter predators. When a butterfly comes to rest on a blade of grass or a flower, we usually see only the unspectacular, grey-brown undersides of its wings. When the butterfly suddenly spreads its wings, the bright colors on the wing's upper surface become visible. In some cases-such as with the peacock butterfly-the markings are remarkably similar in appearance to mammalian eyes. The hope is that a potential predator will be startled, or at least made to hesitate momentarily, giving the butterfly sufficient time to escape.
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