Illusionist Butterfly

Many butterflies have spots on their wings: it is a way to scare off predators mimicking the eyes of bigger, scarier predators, something that would go after them. The Illusionist Butterfly uses the same strategy, but in a much more sophisticated way: it creates the illusion of the predator evoking a spectral image of a raptor through magic. One could say that this butterfly has a phantom owl bodyguard.

These insects need a defense because their iridescent wings and faint luminosity make them an easy target for hungry birds and lizards. The scintillating coloration is a way to attracts mates, and it's also one of the means through which the butterfly cast their spell.

The caterpillars are incredibly talented at camouflage: thanks to their specialized skin, they can reproduce colors and patterns of the surroundings with uncanny precision. They can also change the color of the silk they produce to make cocoons that blend in with the environment.

Unexpectedly, when they emerge as adults, the butterflies don't use these color-changing abilities to hide among the trees but create waving rainbow-colored patterns that make them visible from yards away. The shiny and iridescent wings are a way for the butterflies to find and court each other. The male and female are almost identical and differ in behavioral patterns: the females "occupy" a territory while the males move around looking for a mate.

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/codexinversus/comments/pkubbp/the_illusionist_butterlfy/