Spider – April 2019

ID YOU EVER wish that you had

eyes in the back of your head? Some

animals look like they do! However,

these “eyes” aren’t for seeing—in fact,

they can’t see at all and are calledfalse

eyesoreyespots.

It’s easy to be fooled by eyespots—after

all, they look a lot like eyes. They’re large

and round, and they seem to stare. They

even have what looks like an iris (the

round, colored part of an eyeball), and

a pupil (the inner circle inside the iris).

Yet despite their strong resemblance

to real eyes, eyespots are just designs, or

patterns, found on different parts of an

animal’s body, including feathers, fins,

or fur. They can be seen on the tails of

peacocks, the wings of butterflies, and

the skin of frogs. They’ve also been spied

on falcons and fish, owls and octopi, and

all kinds of insects.

by Caroline Deppe

Eyes in the

Back of Your Head

Eye see you! Can you spot the eyespots on these

six creatures? Here’s a hint: look for black circles

surrounded by white, or white circles surrounded

by black.

Tiger

Leopard

Foureye butterflyfish

Eyed elater beetle

Ladybug

Spicebush

swallowtail

caterpillar

e

Sigh. Here we

go again...

Complete andemonium—wild

chaos—coming our way.