signal coloration

...the green body coloration of the praying mantis that waits patiently on a blade of grass and the patterns of many snakes are good examples. Furthermore, cryptic coloration works in combination with signal coloration, which has an adaptive meaning in the exact opposite way, enhancing its effect. A sign color is a body color that is very conspicuous, alerting the presence of the animal to others and thereby providing the animal with an advantage. There are threatening colorations that frighten enemies (such as the eye patterns of caterpillars and moths), warning colorations that alert others that the animal is poisonous or dangerous (such as the yellow and black stripes of a bee, the flashy red and black hair of a caterpillar, or the flashy spots of poisonous fish, frogs, and snakes), mimicry that imitates the warning coloration or body shape of a poisonous animal even though it is not actually poisonous or dangerous, and recognition colorations that allow individuals of the same species to recognize each other, such as males and females, or parents and children (such as the wing color of a butterfly, or the body color of a baby mammal or bird that is completely different from that of its parents).

*Some of the terminology that mentions "signal coloration" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…草の葉の上でじっと待ち伏せるカマキリの緑色の体色や多くのヘビの模様は，そのよい例である。　さらに隠蔽色は，まったく逆の形で適応的意味をもつ体色，つまり標識色signal colorationと組みあって，その効果を強めている。標識色というのは，きわめて目だちやすい色彩をとることによって，その動物の存在を相手に知らせ，それによってその動物が利益を得るような体色のことで，敵をびっくりさせる威嚇色threatening coloration(芋虫やガの目玉模様など)，自分が有毒，危険な動物であることを相手に知らせる警告色warning coloration(ハチの黄と黒の縞模様，毛虫の赤と黒のはでな毛の色，毒をもつ魚，カエル，ヘビのはでな斑紋など)，ほんとうは有毒でも危険でもないのに，有毒動物の警告色や体形をまねた擬態，および同じ種の動物個体間で，雌雄，親子などが認識しあう認識色(チョウの翅の色，哺乳類･鳥類の雛の親とまるでちがう体色など)に分けられる。…

※「signal coloration」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報