Nature has perfected the art of deception. Thousands of creatures all over the world – including butterflies, moths, fish, birds, insects and snakes – have honed and practiced camouflage over hundreds of millions of years. Imitating other animals or their surroundings, nature’s fakers use mimicry to protect themselves, to attract and repel, to bluff and warn, to forage and to hide. The advantages of mimicry are obvious – but how does nature do it? And how has humanity learnt to profit from nature’s ploys?

This month, on Eureka, Umapagan Ampikaipakan speaks to science writer Peter Forbes about the cultural history that links mimicry and camouflage to art, literature, military tactics and medical cures across the twentieth century.