Contents (click to expand) Animals that use mimicry What is Batesian mimicry? What is Mullerian mimicry? Why Animals Mimic: Purpose and Advantages Mimicry is defined as the close resemblance of one organism to another or to the natural objects among which it lives.
This skill helps the animal to blend in, hunt and survive!
What comes to mind when you see the word mimicry?
But did you know that mimicry is one of the most fascinating concepts in nature?
Animals and plants also imitate certain characteristics of other creatures and the world around them.
Mimic Octopus Can Mimic Other Sea Creatures (Photo Credit: Ethan Daniels/Shutterstock) Mimicry can be observed in animals if they exhibit physical or behavioral traits of another species, or even aspects of the environment in which the animal usually finds itself.
The simple reason this occurs naturally in animals is that it provides a survival advantage.
However, they do not intentionally imitate things or other species.
Animals That Use Mimicry If you’ve ever gone hiking in nature, you’ve probably come within inches of stick insects.
However, you’ve probably never noticed them because they look so much like the bark they’re on.
However, this precise characteristic gives them a huge survival advantage.
Like us, other predators cannot detect the presence of such an animal, which prevents them from being killed in the act of predation.
An insect that fits perfectly into the greenery (Photo Credit: Matee Nuserm/Shutterstock) But that’s not all!
Sometimes animals also mimic other animals to avoid being eaten by larger predators.
They also mimic external features, such as color and shape, to lure prey towards them.
You’ll even find a number of different animals that mimic other species of their type to take advantage of their special traits.
One excellent example is the viceroy butterfly, which mimics the monarch butterfly in both the color and pattern of its wings.
The monarch butterfly is toxic, so the viceroy butterfly is similarly not eaten by predators due to the similarity of its wing pattern to monarchs!
Similarly, the moth Sesia crabroniformis mimics the dangerous stinging wasp Vespa crabro to avoid becoming prey.
It can be concluded that these plants and animals have evolved these methods of deception and deception over a long period of time, all to improve their probability of survival!
Read also: Why does the color of certain animals protect against them? What is Bates mimicry?
Let’s try to understand this concept through an example.
Of these, only B has toxic chemistry in the form of stings, spines, or other features that are harmful to predators.
On the other hand, A and C look only like B, but because of previous unpleasant experiences with B, the predator will avoid all A, B, and C organisms, since they are so similar.
This is known as Batesian mimicry.
Similar color pattern of Viceroy and Monarch butterflies (Photo Credit : Maquiladora/Shutterstock) This type of mimicry is named after Henry Walter Bates, a British scientist who pioneered the work of observing mimicry patterns in Amazonian butterflies.
Therefore, the example mentioned above with the viceroy butterfly mimicking the monarch butterfly fits well into this category.
Batesian mimicry can also be observed in milk snakes, which possess the same body color as venomous coral snakes.
Read also: How do plants defend themselves? What is Mullerian mimicry?
This type of mimicry is only slightly different from Batesian mimicry.
A group of animals is said to exhibit Mullerian mimicry if they produce the same warning signs that indicate they are unpalatable or dangerous.
However, in this type of mimicry it is difficult to understand who is imitating whom, since both creatures are poisonous, but provide an equal share of benefits for their collective survival.
A female wasp that looks similar to a bee (Photo: Pavel Krasensky/Shutterstock) As such, we can say that Mullerian mimics exhibit similar warning systems.
It can be the same brightly colored pattern on the animal’s body that advertises prey as unpalatable or poisonous to predators.
Once a predator has a bad experience with an animal that exhibits such a pattern, it will avoid any similar patterns in the future.
Some prominent examples of creatures that rely on this type of mimicry are bees, yellow jackets, and wasps, which are all stinging insects and have the same black and yellow exterior coloration.
Why Animals Mimic: Purpose and Benefits Mimicry, like several other phenomena in plant and animal biology, has been attributed to evolutionary forces.
Therefore, mimicry helps them avoid such situations and promotes survival.
Camouflage of leaf insects among plants and imitation of a poisonous creature by a non-venomous animal are both effective survival methods.
Moreover, some animals also use this phenomenon to attract prey and fulfill their nutritional needs.
A fascinating example is the Orchid Mantis; unlike the common green praying mantis, this variety shows delicate shades of pale purple or pink.
This appearance helps it to deceive the insects that come to pollinate the orchids, but they end up being prey instead!
Unlike the comedians you see on TV, animals mimic to survive, not to entertain.
This mimicry is not only spectacular, but also very sneaky!
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Mimicry in animals.
Signals, cues and the nature of mimicry.
The Royal Society.Batesian Mimicry – Overview | ScienceDirect Topics.
ScienceDirectChapter 28: The Most Spectacular Bates Mimicry.
University of Florida Share this articleSuggested ReadingFuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law Check on AmazonZoology: The Secret World of AnimalsCheck on AmazonWorld on the Wing: A Global Odyssey of Migratory BirdsCheck on AmazonWas this article helpful?YesNo
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