What is mimicry in biology?

In biology, mimicry is when two or more unrelated organisms share a superficial resemblance. This resemblance gives one or both organisms an advantage, like protection from predators, by deceiving the agent of natural selection. There are different types of mimicry, including: * Batesian mimicry A harmless organism (the mimic) resembles a dangerous one (the model). The mimic benefits because predators mistake it for the model and leave it alone. * Müllerian mimicry Two or more dangerous organisms look similar, sharing the same warning systems, such as bright colors. Predators learn to avoid one organism and then avoid all similar organisms.

Why do some animals or plants use mimicry?

Mimicry is when one organism evolves to resemble another unrelated species, which gives it an advantage. Often, this resemblance protects the mimic from predators. For example, leaf insects use mimicry as camouflage, resembling leaves to avoid detection. There are different types of mimicry. In Batesian mimicry, a harmless species evolves to look like a dangerous one. In Müllerian mimicry, multiple dangerous species evolve to resemble each other, reinforcing the warning signal to predators. Automimicry is when some members of a species mimic other members of the same species.

What is the difference between mimicry and camouflage?

Mimicry and camouflage are both types of deceptive coloration, but they work in different ways. Camouflage involves blending into the surrounding environment to avoid detection, whereas mimicry involves resembling another species to gain an advantage, such as protection from predators. In mimicry, the signals have special significance for both the receiver and the sender, who has evolved the signals to be perceived by the receiver. In camouflage, the sender seeks to avoid detection by imitating what is a neutral background to the receiver. Leaf mimicry is a form of camouflage where animals resemble leaves for protection or to ambush prey.

What are some common examples of mimicry in nature?

Mimicry in nature involves the close resemblance of one organism (the mimic) to another (the model), or even to parts of its own body, deceiving a third party.

How does Batesian mimicry differ from Müllerian mimicry?

Batesian mimicry and Müllerian mimicry are two distinct forms of biological resemblance, both named after their 19th-century discoverers. Batesian mimicry occurs when a harmless species evolves to resemble a dangerous one. The mimic benefits because predators avoid it, mistaking it for the dangerous model. Müllerian mimicry involves multiple dangerous species that come to resemble one another. This convergence benefits all involved because predators learn to avoid one common warning signal, like a specific color pattern, and all species with that signal benefit.

How does mimicry help species survive and evolve over time?

Mimicry helps species survive and evolve via natural selection, where resemblances to other organisms or objects increase survival rates. Batesian mimicry , named after H.W. Bates, involves a harmless species (the mimic) resembling a dangerous one (the model). This protects the mimic, as predators avoid it, mistaking it for the harmful model. Müllerian mimicry occurs when multiple dangerous species resemble each other, reinforcing the warning signal to predators. Aggressive mimicry is when predators or parasites mimic a third party to gain an advantage. Mimicry's success depends on the signal receiver's behavior; the receiver must be deceived for the mimicry to work.

mimicry

Introduction
Basic types of mimicry
- Batesian mimicry
- Müllerian mimicry
- Aggressive mimicry
- Automimicry
- Other forms
Warning systems
- The chemical basis for repulsion
- The evolution of warning systems
  - The selective advantage of warning
  - The role of the receiver
  - Combination of warning systems with concealing coloration
The occurrence of mimicry among plants and animals
- Batesian mimicry
- Müllerian mimicry
- Aggressive mimicry
  - Parasitic worms
  - Insect-luring plants
  - The cleaner mimic
  - Fireflies
- Host mimicry by parasites
  - Cuckoos
  - Parasitic weaverbirds
- Mimicry to effect pollination and dispersal
  - Orchids
  - Carrion flowers, stinkhorn mushrooms, and mosses
- Defensive egg dummies
- Mimicry within species
The evolution of mimicry
- The effectiveness of warning systems
- The reconstruction of evolutionary pathways
- The importance of the signal receiver
- The effects of selective pressure
- The effects of geographic distribution and population density
- The importance of mimicry to evolutionary theory

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

Myrmarachne formicaria, an ant mimic jumping spider with an orange and black body, stands on a green leaf in Pune, Maharashtra, India.

Close-up of a Fly Orchid (Ophrys insectifera) with a dark maroon, insect-shaped flower and dewdrops on green sepals, photographed in the Isar river flood plains, Bavaria.

At a Glance

mimicry summary

mimicry

biology

Written by

Wolfgang J.H. Wickler

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History

Top Questions

What is mimicry in biology?
In biology, mimicry is when two or more unrelated organisms share a superficial resemblance. This resemblance gives one or both organisms an advantage, like protection from predators, by deceiving the agent of natural selection.

There are different types of mimicry, including:
* Batesian mimicry A harmless organism (the mimic) resembles a dangerous one (the model). The mimic benefits because predators mistake it for the model and leave it alone.
* Müllerian mimicry Two or more dangerous organisms look similar, sharing the same warning systems, such as bright colors. Predators learn to avoid one organism and then avoid all similar organisms.
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Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Why do some animals or plants use mimicry?
Mimicry is when one organism evolves to resemble another unrelated species, which gives it an advantage. Often, this resemblance protects the mimic from predators. For example, leaf insects use mimicry as camouflage, resembling leaves to avoid detection.

There are different types of mimicry. In Batesian mimicry, a harmless species evolves to look like a dangerous one. In Müllerian mimicry, multiple dangerous species evolve to resemble each other, reinforcing the warning signal to predators. Automimicry is when some members of a species mimic other members of the same species.
4 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What is the difference between mimicry and camouflage?
Mimicry and camouflage are both types of deceptive coloration, but they work in different ways. Camouflage involves blending into the surrounding environment to avoid detection, whereas mimicry involves resembling another species to gain an advantage, such as protection from predators. In mimicry, the signals have special significance for both the receiver and the sender, who has evolved the signals to be perceived by the receiver. In camouflage, the sender seeks to avoid detection by imitating what is a neutral background to the receiver. Leaf mimicry is a form of camouflage where animals resemble leaves for protection or to ambush prey.
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Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What are some common examples of mimicry in nature?
Mimicry in nature involves the close resemblance of one organism (the mimic) to another (the model), or even to parts of its own body, deceiving a third party.
- Batesian mimicry is when a harmless species evolves to resemble a dangerous one. For example, edible pierid butterflies mimic distasteful heliconiid butterflies to avoid predators.
- Müllerian mimicry occurs when multiple unpalatable species share similar warning coloration, benefiting from a shared signal that predators learn to avoid. Mimicry rings of various insects, such as beetles, butterflies, and wasps, are an example of this.
- Aggressive mimicry is when a predator mimics a non-threatening species to lure prey. An example is the American zone-tailed hawk, which resembles non-aggressive vultures to surprise small animals.
- Automimicry is mimicry within the same species, where one part of an animal's body resembles another. Some animals may shape parts of their bodies to look like teeth or horns.
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How does Batesian mimicry differ from Müllerian mimicry?
Batesian mimicry and Müllerian mimicry are two distinct forms of biological resemblance, both named after their 19th-century discoverers.
- Batesian mimicry occurs when a harmless species evolves to resemble a dangerous one. The mimic benefits because predators avoid it, mistaking it for the dangerous model.
- Müllerian mimicry involves multiple dangerous species that come to resemble one another. This convergence benefits all involved because predators learn to avoid one common warning signal, like a specific color pattern, and all species with that signal benefit.
5 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How does mimicry help species survive and evolve over time?
Mimicry helps species survive and evolve via natural selection, where resemblances to other organisms or objects increase survival rates.

Batesian mimicry, named after H.W. Bates, involves a harmless species (the mimic) resembling a dangerous one (the model). This protects the mimic, as predators avoid it, mistaking it for the harmful model.

Müllerian mimicry occurs when multiple dangerous species resemble each other, reinforcing the warning signal to predators.

Aggressive mimicry is when predators or parasites mimic a third party to gain an advantage.

Mimicry's success depends on the signal receiver's behavior; the receiver must be deceived for the mimicry to work.
5 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

mimicry, in biology, phenomenon characterized by the superficial resemblance of two or more organisms that are not closely related taxonomically. This resemblance confers an advantage—such as protection from predation—upon one or both organisms by which the organisms deceive the animate agent of natural selection. The agent of selection (which may be, for example, a predator, a symbiont, or the host of a parasite, depending on the type of mimicry encountered) interacts directly with the similar organisms and is deceived by their similarity. This type of natural selection distinguishes mimicry from other types of convergent resemblance that result from the action of other forces of natural selection (e.g., temperature, food habits) on unrelated organisms.

In the most-studied mimetic relationships, the advantage is one-sided, one species (the mimic) gaining advantage from a resemblance to the other (the model). Since the discovery of mimicry in butterflies in the mid-19th century, a great many plants and animals have been found to be mimetic. In many cases the organisms involved belong to the same class, order, or even family, but numerous instances are known of plants mimicking animals and vice versa. Although the best-known examples of mimicry involve similarity of appearance, investigations have disclosed fascinating cases in which the resemblance involves sound, smell, behavior, and even biochemistry.

A key element in virtually every mimetic situation is deception by the mimic, perpetrated upon a third party, which mistakes the mimic for the model. This third party may be the collective potential predators upon the mimic, potential prey of a predacious mimic, or even one sex of the mimic’s own species. In some cases, such as host mimicry by parasites, the organism deceived is the model.

Because of the variety of situations in which mimicry occurs, a formal definition must rest upon the effect of certain key communicative signals upon the appropriate receiver and the resultant evolutionary effect upon the emitters of the signals. Mimicry may be defined as a situation in which virtually identical signals, emitted by two different organisms, have in common at least one receiver that reacts in the same manner to both signals because it is advantageous to react in that manner to one of them (that of the model), although it may be disadvantageous to react thus to the counterfeit signal.

The distinction between camouflage and mimicry is not always clear when only the model and the mimic are at hand. When the receiver is known and its reactions understood, however, the distinction is quite clear: in mimicry the signals have a special significance for the receiver and for the sender, which has evolved the signals in order to be perceived by the receiver; in camouflage the sender seeks to avoid detection by the receiver through imitation of what is neutral background to the receiver. For information on camouflage, see also coloration: Camouflage.

greylag. Flock of Greylag geese during their winter migration at Bosque del Apache National Refugee, New Mexico. greylag goose (Anser anser)

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Basic types of mimicry

Batesian mimicry

In 1862 the English naturalist Henry W. Bates published an explanation for unexpected similarities in appearance between certain Brazilian forest butterflies of two distinct families. Members of one family, the Heliconiidae, are unpalatable to birds and are conspicuously colored; members of the other family, the Pieridae, are edible to predators. Bates concluded that the conspicuous coloration of the inedible species must serve as a warning for predators that had learned of their inedibility through experience. The deceptively similar color patterns of the edible species would provide protection from the same predators. This form of mimicry, in which a defenseless organism bears a close resemblance to a noxious and conspicuous one, is called Batesian, in honor of its discoverer.

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Ant mimicA male jumping ant spider (*Myrmarachne formicaria*) disguised as an ant on a leaf. Its unusual, modified body resembles that of an ant, and the spider conceals two of its eight legs by raising them like antennae.

Batesian mimicry can also include models and mimics that are distantly related. The jumping ant spider (Myrmarachne formicaria), for example, is a species of jumping spider that mimics a redwood ant (Formica rufa) in both appearance and behavior to escape predators. Its body is highly modified to resemble the head, thorax, and abdomen of an ant, and the spider disguises its fourth pair of legs (insects only have three pairs) by holding them above its head as fake antennae.

mimicry

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Basic types of mimicry

Batesian mimicry