Overview
Butterflies face many challenges for survival. They begin their lives as vulnerable eggs, develop into small, squishable caterpillars, and then find themselves as defenseless pupae until they finally grow into fragile adults. Birds, bats, lizards, ants, wasps, parasites, toads, lizards, snakes, and even monkeys find tasty treats in butterflies at all stages of life.
Butterflies have adapted strategies in order to complete their life cycle and reproduce.
Camouflage
Camouflage is the act of disguising the body with its surrounding environments. Many butterflies (like the Comma) and moths in their adult, larval, and pupal stages resemble dead leaves, bark or twigs when they perch on the ground under trees. It's especially importants for moths to blend into their surroundings since most sleep during the day on bark or leaves. The tropical Blue Morpho butterfly (not in the Haven) lays its nearly transparent eggs singly. When there are raindrops on the surface of the leaves, as there often are in the rainforest, the eggs are nearly indistinguishable from the water droplets.
Warning Coloration 
Some of the same butterflies that look like dead leaves and bark when their wings are closed, may be brightly colored when their wings are open. This flash of color may startle an unsuspecting predator, allowing the butterflies to escape. Caterpillars can be seen wearing overwhelming fluorescent colors to advertise to prey that they may be poisonous. Brightly colored Monarch butterflies are poisonous.
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False Targets
Some swallowtails have 'tails' that resemble antennae and spots that resemble eyes so that their back end looks like a head. Buckeyes and Owl Butterflies have large eyespots on the tips of their wings that may intimidate others into believing they are larger than they are. These eyespots also direct attacks away from their bodies to their wings where they are more likely to survive a predator's bite.
Mimicry
The classic example of this is the Monarch and Viceroy butterflies, Although it was orginally thought that Viceroys simply used mimicry to trick predators into thinking they were poisonous and distasteful (like the Monarch), it is now found that they too are toxic in some form. Their coloration is a warning signal. This is a form of Mullerian Mimicry, which is when one species is mimicked by another but both are dangerous or distasteful to the predator. Batesian Mimicry is when a harmless species is mimicking one that is harmful or distasteful. Giant Swallowtail caterpilars mimic bad tasting bird droppings. Pupae may hang and look like indigestible unripened fruit.
Other Defenses
Besides camouflage, warning coloration, false targets, and mimicry, butterflies may use other unique methods of defending themselves. Swallowtail caterpillars produce an odor when they are attacked that makes them smell like a leaf, which makes them very unappealing to insectivores. Caterpillars may attract ants that stroke them with their legs and antennae protect the caterpillar by fending off parasites. Caterpillars sometimes have spines and barbed hooks. These are usually for show, but there are also a few stinging caterpillars like the Io Moth and the Saddelback. Caterpillars also try to feed at night, hoping to be unseen as they remain still during the day. Female butterflies and moths may lay more than 1,000 eggs to ensure survival of their offspring.
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