through the water. So the dragon looks like it’s floating—just like seaweed.

The sea dragon’s mouth completes its disguise. The mouth looks like just another seaweed stem. There are even small “leaves” at the end! Yet it’s actually a tube that works like a straw. That mouth is great for slurping up the dragon’s favorite food—sea lice. Yum!

Show-Offs

The leafy sea dragon hides to stay safe, while other animals stay safe by showing their colors. They want other animals to see them.

Scientists call these bright colors warning colors because the colors tell predators to stay away.

You have probably seen animals that have warning colors. Think, for instance, of all those insects that buzz by you on warm days. When one flies by, you likely swat it away. But what happens when a yellow bug flies in your face? Do you swat it? Or do you jump away?

You guessed it. Yellow is a warning color. It tells you that the pesky pest might be a bumblebee or a yellow wasp, and you don’t want to bug those insects.

Some grasshoppers show off their own bright colors. A few are even red and blue. Those colors don’t just look spiffy, they also tell predators to stay away.

Of course, hungry predators sometimes ignore the warning. They still go after the grasshopper. If that happens, the grasshopper has a backup defense. It makes lots of foam, and the foam tastes so bad that the predator won’t do it again.

The bright colors of this South African grasshopper warn predators away.