Question:
Passage IV
Insects' lives are very diminutive and they have many enemies, but they must survive long enough to rear and perpetuate their kind. The less insect-like they look, the better their probability of survival. To look "uneatable" by resembling or imitating plants is a deceit widely practised by insects. Mammals hardly ever use this kind of camouflage, but many fish and invertebrates do.
The stick caterpillar is well named. It is hardly discernible from a brown or green twig. This caterpillar is quite familiar and can be found almost anywhere in North America. It is also called "measuring worm" or "inchworm." It walks by arching its body, then stretching out and grasping the branch with its front feet then looping its body again to bring the hind feet forward. When danger threatens, the stick caterpillar stretches its body away from the branch at an angle and remains rigid and still, like a twig, until the danger has passed.
Walking sticks, or stick insects, do not have to assume a rigid, twig-like pose to find protection; they look like inedible twigs in any position. There are many kinds of walking sticks, ranging in size from the few inches of the North American variety to some tropical species that may be over a foot long. When at rest their front legs are stretched out heightening their camouflage. Some of the tropical species are adorned with spines or ridges imitating the thorny bushes or trees in which they live. Leaves also seem to be a favorite object for insects to imitate. Many butterflies can suddenly disappear from view by folding their wings and sitting quietly among the foliage that they resemble.
Q. How does the stick caterpillar make itself look like a twig?
Passage IV
Insects' lives are very diminutive and they have many enemies, but they must survive long enough to rear and perpetuate their kind. The less insect-like they look, the better their probability of survival. To look "uneatable" by resembling or imitating plants is a deceit widely practised by insects. Mammals hardly ever use this kind of camouflage, but many fish and invertebrates do.
The stick caterpillar is well named. It is hardly discernible from a brown or green twig. This caterpillar is quite familiar and can be found almost anywhere in North America. It is also called "measuring worm" or "inchworm." It walks by arching its body, then stretching out and grasping the branch with its front feet then looping its body again to bring the hind feet forward. When danger threatens, the stick caterpillar stretches its body away from the branch at an angle and remains rigid and still, like a twig, until the danger has passed.
Walking sticks, or stick insects, do not have to assume a rigid, twig-like pose to find protection; they look like inedible twigs in any position. There are many kinds of walking sticks, ranging in size from the few inches of the North American variety to some tropical species that may be over a foot long. When at rest their front legs are stretched out heightening their camouflage. Some of the tropical species are adorned with spines or ridges imitating the thorny bushes or trees in which they live. Leaves also seem to be a favorite object for insects to imitate. Many butterflies can suddenly disappear from view by folding their wings and sitting quietly among the foliage that they resemble.
Q. How does the stick caterpillar make itself look like a twig?
Insects' lives are very diminutive and they have many enemies, but they must survive long enough to rear and perpetuate their kind. The less insect-like they look, the better their probability of survival. To look "uneatable" by resembling or imitating plants is a deceit widely practised by insects. Mammals hardly ever use this kind of camouflage, but many fish and invertebrates do.
The stick caterpillar is well named. It is hardly discernible from a brown or green twig. This caterpillar is quite familiar and can be found almost anywhere in North America. It is also called "measuring worm" or "inchworm." It walks by arching its body, then stretching out and grasping the branch with its front feet then looping its body again to bring the hind feet forward. When danger threatens, the stick caterpillar stretches its body away from the branch at an angle and remains rigid and still, like a twig, until the danger has passed.
Walking sticks, or stick insects, do not have to assume a rigid, twig-like pose to find protection; they look like inedible twigs in any position. There are many kinds of walking sticks, ranging in size from the few inches of the North American variety to some tropical species that may be over a foot long. When at rest their front legs are stretched out heightening their camouflage. Some of the tropical species are adorned with spines or ridges imitating the thorny bushes or trees in which they live. Leaves also seem to be a favorite object for insects to imitate. Many butterflies can suddenly disappear from view by folding their wings and sitting quietly among the foliage that they resemble.
Q. How does the stick caterpillar make itself look like a twig?
Show Hint
Look at the sentence describing what the caterpillar does "when danger threatens."
Updated On: Jul 20, 2026
- By looping itself around a stick
- By holding its body stiff and motionless
- By changing the color of its skin
- By laying its body flat against a branch
- By burrowing inside a twig
Show Solution
Verified By Collegedunia
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
The second paragraph of the passage deals specifically with the stick caterpillar and explains how it avoids danger. The key sentence reads: "When danger threatens, the stick caterpillar stretches its body away from the branch at an angle and remains rigid and still, like a twig, until the danger has passed."
So the caterpillar's trick is not about color, not about burrowing, and not about looping around anything. It simply holds its body away from the branch at an angle and stays completely still and rigid, which makes it indistinguishable from a stiff little twig sticking out. This is a case of behavioural camouflage rather than a physical change in appearance.
Checking the options against this: option (a) describes looping around the stick, which is actually how the caterpillar moves (its inchworm gait), not how it hides. Option (c) talks about changing skin color, which the passage never mentions for this insect. Option (d) says laying flat against the branch, which is the opposite of what is described (the passage says it stretches AWAY from the branch, at an angle). Option (e) about burrowing is not mentioned at all.
Only option (b), holding its body stiff and motionless, matches the passage directly. Hence the answer is (b).
So the caterpillar's trick is not about color, not about burrowing, and not about looping around anything. It simply holds its body away from the branch at an angle and stays completely still and rigid, which makes it indistinguishable from a stiff little twig sticking out. This is a case of behavioural camouflage rather than a physical change in appearance.
Checking the options against this: option (a) describes looping around the stick, which is actually how the caterpillar moves (its inchworm gait), not how it hides. Option (c) talks about changing skin color, which the passage never mentions for this insect. Option (d) says laying flat against the branch, which is the opposite of what is described (the passage says it stretches AWAY from the branch, at an angle). Option (e) about burrowing is not mentioned at all.
Only option (b), holding its body stiff and motionless, matches the passage directly. Hence the answer is (b).
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