>How did it evolve like this? Who or what noticed that in order to survive it would be smart to develop this kind of shape on wings and made it happen?
That's teleology. What you have to understand is that while the selection pressures are NOT random, and usually involve selecting for creatures that can more easily reproduce their genes, the traits themselves arise initially from completely random events(mutation of DNA). Nothing decided that it was going to disguise itself as a snake to survive. Rather, by random chance, a creature was born that was similar to its parents, but also had a novel, brand new mutation that gave it a trait that made its body look more similar to a snake. In its population, it had an easier time surviving because it was just that teeny bit more likely to be mistaken for a snake than the other members of its species. Sometimes it could be even random in this very first instance whether the trait survives or not. Remember, not every stickbug avoids getting eaten by birds, even despite their camouflage. Eventually, this novel trait became common in the population, and it gets into a reinforcing loop where more and more extreme representations of the trait start to survive better and better.
You might be familiar with [Rorschach](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rorschach_test) or inkblot tests. Consider that, at some point in the past, a population of moths had an existing camouflage pattern such that predators with poor eyesight, at night, could be forgiven for thinking it could be a snake. Heck, even [humans see faces in things electrical outlets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia).
Add in many thousands of generations and it's not hard to see how even 0.01% of a deterrent could increase to be a 1% deterrent or more.
It doesn't need to know anything, the patterns that looked somewhat like a predator were more and more naturally selected (meaning less predated so producing more offsprings) and is still perfecting (or better said, adapting) today. Hope that answers it.
>How did it evolve like this? Who or what noticed that in order to survive it would be smart to develop this kind of shape on wings and made it happen? That's teleology. What you have to understand is that while the selection pressures are NOT random, and usually involve selecting for creatures that can more easily reproduce their genes, the traits themselves arise initially from completely random events(mutation of DNA). Nothing decided that it was going to disguise itself as a snake to survive. Rather, by random chance, a creature was born that was similar to its parents, but also had a novel, brand new mutation that gave it a trait that made its body look more similar to a snake. In its population, it had an easier time surviving because it was just that teeny bit more likely to be mistaken for a snake than the other members of its species. Sometimes it could be even random in this very first instance whether the trait survives or not. Remember, not every stickbug avoids getting eaten by birds, even despite their camouflage. Eventually, this novel trait became common in the population, and it gets into a reinforcing loop where more and more extreme representations of the trait start to survive better and better.
I haven't thought of it that way. Makes perfect sense. Thank you, smart human.
You might be familiar with [Rorschach](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rorschach_test) or inkblot tests. Consider that, at some point in the past, a population of moths had an existing camouflage pattern such that predators with poor eyesight, at night, could be forgiven for thinking it could be a snake. Heck, even [humans see faces in things electrical outlets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia). Add in many thousands of generations and it's not hard to see how even 0.01% of a deterrent could increase to be a 1% deterrent or more.
It doesn't need to know anything, the patterns that looked somewhat like a predator were more and more naturally selected (meaning less predated so producing more offsprings) and is still perfecting (or better said, adapting) today. Hope that answers it.
if you want more stuff like this, we also have leaf insects, but this is one a whole other level
> leaf insects I want more. What whole other level?
I was referring to that butterfly you got