Showing posts tagged mimicry
No, these aren’t wasps - they’re moths! Members of the moth Family Sesiidae (clearwing moths) are wasp mimics, and often incredibly good ones. The easiest way to tell them apart is by the body scales (frequently there are tufts at the tail-end of the abdomen) and thickened antennae. Clearwing moths are day-fliers and can sometimes be encountered nectaring at flowers, but rarely come to lights at night. The mimicry affords them protection from some daytime predators. The caterpillars bore through the woody stems or roots of plants, and can sometimes be significant crop pests - a familiar one to home veggie gardeners might be the Squash Vine Borer (Melittia cucurbitae). These ones are Western Poplar Clearwing (Paranthrene robiniae), which target poplars, willows and birches throughout the west. photo by stonebird on Flickr (via: Peterson Field Guides) View high resolution

No, these aren’t wasps - they’re moths!

Members of the moth Family Sesiidae (clearwing moths) are wasp mimics, and often incredibly good ones. The easiest way to tell them apart is by the body scales (frequently there are tufts at the tail-end of the abdomen) and thickened antennae. Clearwing moths are day-fliers and can sometimes be encountered nectaring at flowers, but rarely come to lights at night.

The mimicry affords them protection from some daytime predators. The caterpillars bore through the woody stems or roots of plants, and can sometimes be significant crop pests - a familiar one to home veggie gardeners might be the Squash Vine Borer (Melittia cucurbitae). These ones are Western Poplar Clearwing (Paranthrene robiniae), which target poplars, willows and birches throughout the west.

photo by stonebird on Flickr

(via: Peterson Field Guides)

Cabo Pulmo Marine Reserve, Mexico - Sabretooth Blennies One fascinating side-effect of the reserve has been a previously unknown change in the behavior of the Sabretooth Blenny. Normally a visual and behavioral mimic of the Cortez Rainbow Wrasse, it ‘tricks’ much larger fishes into thinking that, like the wrasse, it is completely harmless, only to take a bite out of its unsuspecting victim and quickly swim away. However, this strategy only works if there are more wrasses than Sabretooth Blennies, so that potential victims are less likely to assume they are about to be bitten. (via: http://news.discovery.com/animals/endangered-species/most-successful-marine-reserve-cabo-pulmo-110812.htm) photo by Octavio Aburto View high resolution

Cabo Pulmo Marine Reserve, Mexico - Sabretooth Blennies

One fascinating side-effect of the reserve has been a previously unknown change in the behavior of the Sabretooth Blenny. Normally a visual and behavioral mimic of the Cortez Rainbow Wrasse, it ‘tricks’ much larger fishes into thinking that, like the wrasse, it is completely harmless, only to take a bite out of its unsuspecting victim and quickly swim away. However, this strategy only works if there are more wrasses than Sabretooth Blennies, so that potential victims are less likely to assume they are about to be bitten.

(via: http://news.discovery.com/animals/endangered-species/most-successful-marine-reserve-cabo-pulmo-110812.htm)

photo by Octavio Aburto

Ant-mimicking nymph of a longhorned grasshopper This nymph of a (false) katydid or bush-cricket, ~2-3 cm, looks like a giant ant (mimicry);however, ants (Hymenoptera) neither have such - long - antennae nor such strong hind-legs (femur)! The colouration supports the mimicry: the dark colour of antennae is interrupted by a broad white part, hence they seem to be short like the ones of ants. The same happens with the colourful neon-stripes that legs seem thin and the body seems constricted… like a real ant! Subfamily: Phaneropterinae, Family: Tettigoniidae Table Mountain National Park, Gunung Meja, West Papua, Indonesia (photo: Guido Bohne) View high resolution

Ant-mimicking nymph of a longhorned grasshopper

This nymph of a (false) katydid or bush-cricket, ~2-3 cm, looks like a giant ant (mimicry);however, ants (Hymenoptera) neither have such - long - antennae nor such strong hind-legs (femur)! The colouration supports the mimicry: the dark colour of antennae is interrupted by a broad white part, hence they seem to be short like the ones of ants. The same happens with the colourful neon-stripes that legs seem thin and the body seems constricted… like a real ant!

Subfamily: Phaneropterinae, Family: Tettigoniidae

Table Mountain National Park, Gunung Meja, West Papua, Indonesia

(photo: Guido Bohne)

Jumping Spider Mimics Velvet Ants This adult female jumping spider (Phiale guttata) from the La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica appears to be mimicking a velvet ant in the genus Hoplomutilla. Velvet ants are actually wingless wasps with a painful sting so mimicking them gives the spider protection from predators, which stay away… (read more: NSF Science 360) (photo: Lisa Taylor, Arizona State Univ.) View high resolution

Jumping Spider Mimics Velvet Ants

This adult female jumping spider (Phiale guttata) from the La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica appears to be mimicking a velvet ant in the genus Hoplomutilla. Velvet ants are actually wingless wasps with a painful sting so mimicking them gives the spider protection from predators, which stay away…

(read more: NSF Science 360)

(photo: Lisa Taylor, Arizona State Univ.)

giraffe-in-a-tree:

A Ladybug… Or a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing?

The Ladybug Mimic Spider (Paraplectana duodecimmaculata)

Ladybugs are brightly colored with what biologists call aposematic (“warning”) coloration: a warning to predators to avoid them because they’re bad tasting (ladybugs contain toxic and foul-tasting alkaloids).  Such coloration is common: other examples include black-and-orange striped bees and wasps, the orange-and-black monarch butterfly, and the striking pattern of the noxious striped skunk.

Once an aposematic model species is in place, there is an advantage to tasty and nontoxic species to evolve the patterns and colors of the model, for by so doing they avoid predation.  This form of imitation is called Batesian mimicry after the British naturalist H.W. Bates. In this way, potential predators of the non-toxic (when ingested) spider avoid it, as it has evolved to look like the toxic (when ingested) ladybug.

(1, 2, 3)

(Source: giraffeinatree)

(Reblogged from astronomy-to-zoology)

earth-song:

Frogfish: The Ocean’s Disguise Artists

Biomimicry is one of evolution’s most mind-blowing avenues of adaptation. It’s one thing to adapt thanks to maxing out the biological limits of speed, or selecting for the ever-longer, better-feeding necks of giraffes or the ability to use a new, untapped food source at the bottom of the ocean. But to become another life form? It shows us that natural selection is not only a powerful force, but also a delicate one, fine-tuning things like colors and patterns like only the finest human artists can.

Above are three examples of frogfish biomimicry, a family of fish that separately mimics algae, sponges and even sea urchins. They evolved these costumes as a way to avoid predators and become better predators themselves. Check out an in-depth post about frogfish biomimicry at Why Evolution is True (wait until you see them eat!), and if you want more here’s a whole website (Comic Sans warning!) dedicated to frogfish camo.

[Read more]

(Reblogged from earth-song)
The ant mimicking Crab Spider, Amyciaea lineatipes, Hong Kong, wants to tell you some shit that you’re just not ready to hear… (photo: Charles Lam) View high resolution

The ant mimicking Crab Spider, Amyciaea lineatipes, Hong Kong, wants to tell you some shit that you’re just not ready to hear…

(photo: Charles Lam)

ichthyologist: Frogfish Camouflage Frogfish are the masters of camouflage, being able to mold their bodies to mimic sponges and corals. Some specimens even have filamentous patches simulating algal growth. The frogfish uses its invisibility as a hunting method - a it flickers a small lure above its mouth, attracting prey to the seemingly safe ‘rock’. It is able to swallow prey in as fast as 6 milliseconds. Rick Colllier on Flickr View high resolution

ichthyologist:

Frogfish Camouflage

Frogfish are the masters of camouflage, being able to mold their bodies to mimic sponges and corals. Some specimens even have filamentous patches simulating algal growth.

The frogfish uses its invisibility as a hunting method - a it flickers a small lure above its mouth, attracting prey to the seemingly safe ‘rock’. It is able to swallow prey in as fast as 6 milliseconds.

Rick Colllier on Flickr

(Reblogged from ichthyologist)
oceanportal: Only one of these two “sponges” is actually a sponge! Can you tell which one? The yellow one on the left is a frogfish (Family: Antennariidae), a type of coral reef fish found around the world. This species mimics a sponge so that its prey—smaller sponge-eating fish—will approach, only to be eaten by the frogfish itself! Many types of mimicry in the natural world involve prey animals disguising themselves to avoid predators. This frogfish’s mimicry to catch prey is called aggressive mimicry because it’s on the attack, not the defense. (via The amazing mimicry of frogfish « Why Evolution Is True)

oceanportal:

Only one of these two “sponges” is actually a sponge! Can you tell which one?

The yellow one on the left is a frogfish (Family: Antennariidae), a type of coral reef fish found around the world. This species mimics a sponge so that its prey—smaller sponge-eating fish—will approach, only to be eaten by the frogfish itself!

Many types of mimicry in the natural world involve prey animals disguising themselves to avoid predators. This frogfish’s mimicry to catch prey is called aggressive mimicry because it’s on the attack, not the defense.

(via The amazing mimicry of frogfish « Why Evolution Is True)

(Reblogged from oceanportal)

ichthyologist:

Mimicry in Butterflies - Viceroy vs Monarch

As a defensive measure, some harmless species of animals mimic features of dangerous species to deter predators. This is known as batesian mimicry.

In this example, the viceroy butterfly (top) has evolved to look similar to the toxic monarch butterfly (bottom). However, it has reported that the viceroy is in fact more unpalatable than the monarch butterfly, which makes this case Müllerian mimicry.

Müllerian mimicry differs from batesian mimicry in that both species are dangerous.

Images: D. Gordon E. Robertson, Kenneth Dwain Harrelson

(Reblogged from ichthyologist)

ichthyologist:

Batesian Mimicry in Batfish

Batesian mimicry is a form of mimicry whereby a harmless species copies a dangerous species as a defensive measure.

Juvenile specimens of the Pinnate Batfish (Platax Pinnatus) are known to mimic some flatworms. The fish swims with flowing motions parallel to rocks, similar to the rippling of a flatworm.

Richard Ling and Daniel Kwok on Flickr

(Reblogged from ichthyologist)
Wasp Moth Plans For the Future, Kerala, India Had gone for an afternoon stroll with my nephews when they pointed out this Euchromia polymena (Linnaeus), also called Wasp Moth, under a leaf. Realised it was laying eggs after taking a closer look. If you look closely you can see the eggs on the leaf. The older boy held up the leaf for me to get clear shots. These moths look like wasps and so helps keep predators away, hence the name. The adult moths have black wings with three large orange patches and two small blue marks on each forewing, a blue head, scarlet prothorax, and bands of deep blue and of scarlet on the abdomen. (text/photo: SivamDesign | Flickr) View high resolution

Wasp Moth Plans For the Future, Kerala, India

Had gone for an afternoon stroll with my nephews when they pointed out this Euchromia polymena (Linnaeus), also called Wasp Moth, under a leaf. Realised it was laying eggs after taking a closer look. If you look closely you can see the eggs on the leaf.

The older boy held up the leaf for me to get clear shots. These moths look like wasps and so helps keep predators away, hence the name. The adult moths have black wings with three large orange patches and two small blue marks on each forewing, a blue head, scarlet prothorax, and bands of deep blue and of scarlet on the abdomen.

(text/photo: SivamDesign | Flickr)

Darwin and Orchids The bee orchid (Ophrys apifera) does not have nectar, but its labellum, imitating a female bee, attracts male bees who attempt to mate with it, and it gets its pollination. Charles Darwin found that in northern Europe, it is mostly self-fertilising. (photo: Hans Hillewaert) View high resolution

Darwin and Orchids

The bee orchid (Ophrys apifera) does not have nectar, but its labellum, imitating a female bee, attracts male bees who attempt to mate with it, and it gets its pollination. Charles Darwin found that in northern Europe, it is mostly self-fertilising.

(photo: Hans Hillewaert)

A new species of Ant-mimic Jumping Spider, discovered on a recent expedition to Mount Kinabalu, in the Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo, in the Indonesian Archipelago. (photo:Peter Koomen) View high resolution

A new species of Ant-mimic Jumping Spider, discovered on a recent expedition to Mount Kinabalu, in the Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo, in the Indonesian Archipelago.

(photo:Peter Koomen)

explosionsoflife: Banded Snake Eel(Myrichthys colubrinus) Cleverly disguised to look like the venomous yellow-lipped sea krait, the banded snake eel is avoided by most predators. This allows it to hunt safely over sand flats and seagrass beds near coral reefs for small fish and crustaceans. Most individuals of this species are banded with broad black and white bands, but in some areas these eels have dark blotches between the bands. This color variant may eventually be identified as a different species. The banded snake eel has a pointed head with a pair of large tubular nostrils on the upper jaw that point downwards. This arrangement gives the fish an excellent sense of smell that allows it to seek out prey hidden beneath the sand surface. With no fins except for very small pectoral fins, the banded snake eel swims by undulating its long body. When not hunting, it buries itself in the sand using the hard, pointed tip of its tail to burrow in tail-first. These fish are most active by night. They tend to remain in their burrows during the day and so are not often seen by divers. (Photo © Roger Blum)

explosionsoflife:

Banded Snake Eel
(Myrichthys colubrinus)

Cleverly disguised to look like the venomous yellow-lipped sea krait, the banded snake eel is avoided by most predators. This allows it to hunt safely over sand flats and seagrass beds near coral reefs for small fish and crustaceans. Most individuals of this species are banded with broad black and white bands, but in some areas these eels have dark blotches between the bands. This color variant may eventually be identified as a different species. The banded snake eel has a pointed head with a pair of large tubular nostrils on the upper jaw that point downwards. This arrangement gives the fish an excellent sense of smell that allows it to seek out prey hidden beneath the sand surface.

With no fins except for very small pectoral fins, the banded snake eel swims by undulating its long body. When not hunting, it buries itself in the sand using the hard, pointed tip of its tail to burrow in tail-first. These fish are most active by night. They tend to remain in their burrows during the day and so are not often seen by divers.

(Photo © Roger Blum)

(Reblogged from bullshit-bullsharks)