Some animals and insects have patterns on their body. Is there any purpose to this?

The patterns on the bodies of some animals and insects is an adaption. These patterns help them blend in with their immediate environment. This provides them with two benefits. This camouflage may protect them from predators and/or help them stay unnoticed by their prey and enable easy hunting.

Some examples of these patterns are those on the skins of snakes, geckos and chameleons. Geckos can use these skin patterns to resemble dead leaves or tree...

The patterns on the bodies of some animals and insects is an adaption. These patterns help them blend in with their immediate environment. This provides them with two benefits. This camouflage may protect them from predators and/or help them stay unnoticed by their prey and enable easy hunting.

Some examples of these patterns are those on the skins of snakes, geckos and chameleons. Geckos can use these skin patterns to resemble dead leaves or tree bark, etc. With these adaptations, animals can protect themselves from potential predators and also stay unnoticed by potential prey. Thus, these adaptations enable easier food access and protection. Another great example of benefits of these skin patterns is those on the skin of zebra. It has been hypothesized that this striped pattern ensures that potential predators cannot distinguish between different animals in a herd. Another theory is that the stripes deter harmful insects from landing on the zebras.

An additional reason for patterns on animals and insects is to create a warning signal to a potential predator that the animal being preyed upon is poisonous. This is the case for poison dart frogs and many species of caterpillar.

Hope this helps.