Mimicry

Animal Mimicry

Under the damp, shady canopy of the Amazonian rainforest, Henry Walter Bates—the naturalist for whom the first type of mimicry (Batesian mimicry) is named—first discovered mimicry when he observed two different species of butterflies that looked profoundly similar. Studying the Heliconius butterfly and its mimic, the Leptalis, Bates reasoned that the prey (Leptalis) used mimicry to deceive the predator.

In Batesian mimicry, the purpose of the deception is protection. In the constant struggle between prey and predator, mimicry is a strategic ploy. Batesian mimicry assumes that only one species needs to be unpalatable to the predator. For instance, the Heliconius releases a pungent odor and skin irritant from its body when attacked, making it an undesirable target. The palatable mimic imitates the first species. The Leptalis's wings are almost identical copies of the Heliconius's, deceiving predators into perceiving it as unpalatable. By using mimicry, the succulent Leptalis is protected, or rather, untargeted by predators.

Another example of Batesian mimicry is the Sonoran mountain king snake's mimicry of the toxic coral snake. The Sonoran mountain snake effectively mimics the black-red-and-yellow stripe pattern of the coral snake, which serves as a warning sign of the coral snake's highly poisonous venom. The mimicry is almost flawless, and only the order of the colors can indicate whether the snake is toxic or harmless.

German naturalist Fritz Muller observed that harmless, attractive prey are not the only ones to use mimicry for protection. In Mullerian mimicry, multiple noxious-when-eaten species mimic each other, ultimately resembling others for protection against predators. If two, three, or even four similarly noxious species mimic each other, their chances of survival will exponentially increase, because when a predator attacks one species the predator learns to avoid all of the mimicking species. The predator is duped into perceiving that each species mimicking the other is noxious. The previously mentioned unpalatable Heliconius butterfly engages in this type of mimicry. H. numata, H. erato, and H. melpomene (various species of the Heliconius butterfly) are part of the same Mullerian mimicry group in that they all mimic each other, and predators that feed on butterflies learn to avoid the entire group as a whole.

Animals do not always mimic other animals; they can also mimic the environment. The Kallima butterfly's wings are a nearly perfect imitation of a leaf, allowing it to blend into a forest background to camouflage it from predators. The Indo-Malaysian octopus is a master of deception with its ability to mimic both other animals, such as flounders and sea snakes, and the environment, taking on the appearance of surrounding rocks or the sea floor.

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