Batesian mimicry is an evolutionary strategy in which a harmless species evolves to resemble the warning signals of a harmful or unpalatable species, so that predators that have learned to avoid the dangerous model also avoid the harmless mimic. The robber fly Mallophora bomboides shows this pattern by resembling bumblebees closely enough that predators wary of a bumblebee's sting leave the harmless fly alone as well. The strategy depends on the mimic staying rarer than the model in any one area, since predators that repeatedly encounter mimics without the model's real defense learn that the warning pattern is not reliable, weakening the protection for both species. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
PeriodicityNot a recurring event: a standing evolved resemblance maintained in a population for as long as it deters shared predators, rather than something that recurs at intervals. 1 ScaleDocumented from whole-insect visual mimicry, such as a harmless hoverfly resembling a wasp, to non-visual cases including moths mimicking ultrasonic warning signals and weakly electric fish mimicking the electrolocation signals of strongly electric fish. 1 First DescribedNamed after the English naturalist Henry Walter Bates, who described the phenomenon from his own work on butterflies in the rainforests of Brazil. 1 Identification
Distinguishing AppearanceA harmless mimic species closely resembles the warning signals of a separate, harmful model species, close enough that a shared predator, the dupe, mistakes the mimic for the dangerous model and avoids it. 1 Connections
Associated With
Source Mimicry (Wikipedia)
Source Batesian mimicry (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Batesian mimicry (Wikipedia)
Lead section, final paragraph, on non-visual Batesian mimicry
auditory Batesian mimicry can be seen in moths that mimic the ultrasonic warning signals transmitted by unpalatable moths to bat predators, while some weakly electric fish appear to mimic the electrolocation signals of strongly electric fish
Lead section, first paragraph, naming Henry Walter Bates
It is named after the English naturalist Henry Walter Bates, who worked on butterflies in the rainforests of Brazil.
Lead section, third paragraph, on the mimic, model and dupe roles
the imitating species is called the mimic, while the imitated species (protected by its own toxicity, foul taste or other defenses) is known as the model.
Quote
Batesian mimicry is a form of mimicry wherein a harmless species has evolved to imitate the warning signals of a harmful species in order to benefit from these signals' tendency to deter their mutual predators.
Associated With: Müllerian mimicry, Lead section, second paragraph, comparison to Müllerian mimicry
Batesian mimicry is often compared with Müllerian mimicry, the mutually beneficial, converging appearance of two or more harmful species.
View the SourceMimicry (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Mimicry, Lead section, on Batesian mimicry as the simplest caseQuote, Associated With: Mimicry, Lead section, on Batesian mimicry as the simplest case
In the simplest case, as in Batesian mimicry, a mimic resembles a model, so as to deceive a dupe, all three being of different species.
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