Dangerous Creatures: War Paint

   Don’t let pretty colours fool you! They’re often signs of danger.
   Know the right colour coding, and you’ll be smarter around wasps, poison arrow frogs and spotted salamanders.
   The mandarin fish and the zygaenid moth. These two creatures send a very clear message to would-be predators.
   If you drove a car through a red light, you’d probably expect to be in trouble. Colour signals are important in the animal world, too.
   The orange-striped newt, the red-kneed tarantula and the tiger centipede. Now, here’s a group of pretty dangerous characters!
   Video: In the world of amphibians and reptiles, bright colours usually signal poison. So, if you spot a beautifully coloured animal, just look, don’t touch.
   Advice: We humans wear whatever colours please us. Except in times of war, when armies choose coloured uniforms so that everyone will know who’s on which side – or they wear camouflage to hide out. But every day is a battle in the animal world, so colours often have special meanings there.

Next: [See picture] This mandrill is a colourful cousin of the baboon.