Crypsis is the ability of an organism to avoid observation or detection by other organisms, either by predation strategy or antipredator adaptation. Many animals have evolved to visually resemble their surroundings by changing their colour. These changes can be experimentally provoked by altering physical parameters (such as humidity) during the development of the nymphs, and also depend on the type of food they consume. This report illustrates coloration changes of the Green Shield Bug (Palomena prasina) during autumn, on specimens caught at the nearby town of Vlašim (Central Bohemia). We recorded the shortest time for the imagos to change color (from bright green to uniform brown) as nine days in an experimental insecta - rium. The rate of color change was influenced by air temperature. The brown colour is evidently an indicator of the diapause. and Lubomír Hanel, Jana Hanelová.
In suitable habitats the population density of the Dice Snake (Natrix tessellata) can be obviously higher than the density of other central European snakes. Under such conditions the Dice Snakes can form larger aggregations of mating individuals, in which male-male mating competition takes place. Dice Snake mating aggregations observed in the Ohře river valley are described and the mating strategy of males and female is discussed. Special attention is paid to mating in above-ground positions, e.g. on trees. and Jiří Moravec.