One of the most unusual camouflages the entire animal world is that displayed by a small spider from Sri Lanka and Java. The dung spider spins an irregular white web on a leaf, then stations itself in the middle —the whole thing, web and spider, looking exactly like the chalky-white splash of a bird-dropping with a dark, dried center. This serves a double function; not only does it permit the spider to grab butterflies that come to feed on the supposed bit of excrement but it also helps conceal the dung spider from marauding wasps.
