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1. Batesian mimicry
Batesian mimicry is a form of mimicry in the animal world which involves masquerading as a dangerous
animal species. Animals which exhibit Batesian mimicry typically don't have defensive traits like spines or
poison, but they closely resemble animals which do, leading potential predators to leave them alone.
Essentially, these animals, known as mimics, benefit from learned avoidance, taking advantage of the fact
that other animals have learned to steer clear of animals with specific markings, known as models.
Explaination
This type of mimicry is especially common among insects, but it also appears in other animals. For example,
the coral snake has a very distinctive banded pattern which is copied by a harmless snake species;
sometimes the mimicry is so good that naturalists even confuse the two snake species.
Batesian mimicry was discovered in the Amazon. It is named after Henry Walter Bates, a 19th century
British biologist who first published examples of harmless animals mimicking their more dangerous
counterparts. In fact, many people are so familiar with Batesian mimicry that they are unaware of the fact
that different types of mimicry can also be found in nature.
Classically, Batesian mimicry involves a visual replication of an animal with aposematic coloring.
Aposematic coloring is a pattern of coloration which is meant to act as a visual warning sign, sort of like a
neon “danger” sign which says “don't eat me, because you will regret it.” This type of coloring is often
brightly colored, ensuring that it can be clearly seen, even in dim conditions or by potential predators with
limited color vision.
However, Batesian mimicry can also take an acoustic form. Some animals replicate the ultrasound
communications of dangerous animals to frighten predators away, for example, while others mimic hunting
calls to make animals think that they are in danger.
Batesian mimicry sometimes backfires. If too many copycats are around, predators may learn that the
warning sounds or coloration are a ruse, and they will start snacking on the mimics. Often this means that
the models will be threatened as well, because predators think that the coloring is no longer a danger sign.
Mullerian mimicry
Mullerian mimicry is a biological phenomenon whereby two harmful species, which may not be closely
related, come to mimic each other in their external appearance to scare away predators. These animals may
have a common predator, and therefore experience mutual gain when their body patterns are associated with
danger in the eyes of the predator, causing them to be passed by. The most commonly cited example of
Mullerian mimicry is in butterflies, various lineages of which have similar colorful patterns on their wings to
help scare away predators. The butterfly's actual repel mechanism is its foul taste.
Mullerian mimicry is one of many forms of mimicry employed by organisms to help them survive. The basis
of many types of mimicry is aposematism -- the strategy whereby dangerous organisms (wasps, poison
frogs, etc.) signal their defenses to predators through gaudy colors like bright yellow, orange, purple, or red.
This is a strategy naturally opposed to crypsis, where the organism attempts to survive by attracting as little
attention as possible, as in camouflage. Some organisms even employ both, trying to look inconspicuous
until they are noticed, at which point they flash warning colors or symbols. This dual strategy is found
among many snakes and amphibians.
The concept of Mullerian mimicry was first proposed in 1878 by Fritz Muller, a German naturalistand early
proponent of Darwin's theory of evolution. In the immediate decades after the theory was published,
naturalists spent a lot of time trying to explain certain seeming holes in the theory, reconciling it with field
observations. A British naturalist, William Bates, studied Brazilian butterflies and came up with the concept
of Batesian mimicry, whereby a harmless species mimics a harmful species, fooling predators into believing
it is harmful. This showed how independently evolving lineages could come to resemble one another
through natural selection. What was confusing were why harmful species came to resemble one another as
well. This question was answered by Muller with his proposal of Mullerian mimicry.