Editing Anti-predator adaptation (section)

===Startling the predator===

{{main |Deimatic behaviour}}

Many weakly-defended animals, including [[moth]]s, [[butterflies]], [[Mantidae|mantises]], [[Phasmidae|phasmids]], and [[cephalopods]] such as octopuses, make use of patterns of threatening or [[deimatic behaviour|startling behaviour]], such as suddenly displaying conspicuous [[eyespot (mimicry)|eyespots]], so as to scare off or momentarily distract a predator, thus giving the prey animal an opportunity to escape. In the absence of toxins or other defences, this is essentially bluffing, in contrast to aposematism which involves honest signals.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1017/S1464793105006810 |last=Stevens |first=Martin |author-link=Martin Stevens (biologist) |title=The role of eyespots as anti-predator mechanisms, principally demonstrated in the Lepidoptera |journal=Biological Reviews |volume=80 |issue=4 |date=2005 |pages=573–588 |pmid=16221330 |s2cid=24868603 }}</ref><ref name=Springer>{{cite web |url=http://www.springerreference.com/docs/html/chapterdbid/86053.html |title=Deimatic Behavior |publisher=Springer |date=2012 |access-date=31 December 2012 |last=Edmunds |first=Malcolm}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.conchsoc.org/node/6014 |title=Octopus vulgaris. Dymantic display |publisher=The Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland |date=3 December 2012 |access-date=1 January 2013 |author=Smith, Ian}}</ref>