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As the most productive season of plants in a year， summer witnesses the peak of both types and quantity of insects. No matter in urban or rural areas， in the daily drama of nature， there are always the law of the jungle.
Elegantly dancing summer insects might be headshot by their natural enemies within seconds. In order to escape from those attacks， in order to enjoy delicacies， technical strategies are indispensable， and in this long evolution process comes mimesis of insects.
Role Play in Mimesis
Mimesis， it refers to the phenomenon a creature imitating another one or other objects in the surrounding environment hence gaining benefits， which is also known as biological mimicry. Insects are masters of mimesis in the nature， able to imitate in terms of shape， color， pattern， gesture， etc.， so as to obtain benefits--- escaping form natural enemies， or gaining survival advantages such as food.
In the insect world with both huge type and quantity， this strategy is carried out quite well. Because of their complex life history and unique mimesis， in every period of their life--- no matter egg， larva， pupa or adult， they can imitate different objects， gaining benefits for themselves.
In this good play， there are 3 roles： mimic， mock object and fool. Of course， in some mimesis case， there are only the first 2 ones.
Now it is clear， in a nutshell： through imitating targets， mimic cheat the fool. The range of mock objects is unlimited， which can be either other creatures or non-living things， as long as cheating the fools. Fools are consisted of the natural enemies of mimics as well as human beings.
In general， these three roles should be in the same "stage"， which means at the same time and in the same place. For example， we can not just rely on speculation and similarity， and confirm that some African butterflies imitate some Asian owls in eyespots， because neither the time or place suites.
Mimics forms a big group in insect world， imitating each other， benefiting themselves. Non-living creatures are common mock objects. Once imitating well， as long as they stay still， mimics can be quite safer. Sometimes， their vivid imitation can cheat both its natural enemies and human beings. However， once moving， they will be targeted by keen predators.
The appearance of some weevils feeding on plants looks like a lump of bird droppings， letting predators relaxing their vigilance. Should inadvertently encountered， it will shrink its six feet， falling on the ground， playing dead. For example， tumor beetle looks like a cloud of black worm poop falling on the leaves， hence making predators loosing appetites. Of course， in addition to avoiding predation， some insects make mimesis to ambush and attack. Dead leaf mantis is a master. They are usually motionless， looking nothing different from dead leaves， but once there is a prey， they will use their grasping leg to quickly grab it firmly and bite from the head. Angle cicada can even make subtle imitation of the projections and thorn structure of plants， lying quietly on it， sucking with the sap-sucking mouthparts.
Batesian Mimicry
Batesian mimicry refers to the phenomenon that some “good to eat” or “easy to eat” mimics try to hide from predators by imitating those “poisonous”， “not good to eat” and “trifled” ones.
Discovery of Batesian Mimesis
This mimesis was firstly discovered by British naturalist Henry Walter Bates in his scientific expedition in the 19th century in the Amazon rain forest， hence was named as Batesian Mimesis.
A classic case of Batesian comes as the North American viceroy butterflies imitating toxic monarch butterflies to avoid predators. The larvae of the latter often feed on poisonous plants， accumulating toxins in their body. For example， larvae of monarch butterflies accumulate toxins through eating poisonous asclepiadaceae plants， hence consisting toxins when growing to adult butterflies， making bird eating them vomit. Experiencing once， birds will never eat this kind of butterflies for a second time.
Via observation， Bates discovered that birds generally don’t choose monarch butterflies to eat. And some non-toxic ones， imitating patterns of those poisonous ones， successfully escape from birds.
The patterns of North American viceroy butterflies and toxic monarch butterflies are quite the same， making birds confused being unable to tell the difference hence giving up predation. Consequently， North American viceroy butterflies successfully protect themselves via mimesis.
Two Toxics： Monarch butterfly and byasa alcinous
Among all the butterflies， monarch butterfly and byasa alcinous are two toxics， larvae of the former enjoy eating poisonous Asclepiadaceae， Apocynaceae plant， while larvae of the latter prefer poisonous Aristolochia plants， accumulating toxins within the body until reaching adult period. Poisonous property makes predators give up， but also giving opportunities for mimics.
For example， golden limenitis archippus imitating golden monarch butterflies， epicopeiidae imitating byasa alcinous， which all belongs to Batesian Mimesis. Obviously， Batesian Mimesis benefits the mimics a lot， while those being imitated take it on the chin. Females imitate， males sacrifice
Interestingly， in the Batesian Mimesis cases， mostly， the females imitate poisonous butterflies while the males remain the form quite different from the females. For insects， the most important task of life is to reproduce. Therefore， females imitating poisonous ones while males sacrifice themselves without mimesis can greatly increase the probability of survival of the females in order to successfully breed more offspring. “Ladies first” is a golden rule in the insect world. To multiply the family， the males sacrifice themselves for the sake of the females.
Mullerian Mimesis：
Big Brothers” in the Insect World
Some insects look quite similar to each other， and both do not suite the taste of their predators， in this case， they form the so-called Mullerian Mimesis. One of its advantages is that once the predator finds one of them inedible or not good to eat， they will never eat similar ones next time.
In the insect world， some poisonous species are very eye-catching， sending hint to their predators from the appearance， as if to say： "I'm poisonous" "I am powerful." "Do not mess with me." And this is the meaning of coloration.
Heliconius butterflies are black and red， eye-catching warning color， and are even similar in markings are similar. Putting together， they can form a "Everybody finding fault" game. For the birds， they lose appetite immediately seeing these butterflies. In Mullerian Mimesis， the toxic creatures imitate each other and jointly improve the probability of survival. This can be said to be the extension or expansion of the coloration. Interestingly， in addition to the visual imitations， sometimes they will imitate each other in the voice signal， making ultrasonic alert with similar vibration frequency avoid this type attacks of predator like bats.
Butterflies choosing this mimesis are big brothers. Previously in the Batesian Mimesis， we’ve talked about poisonous monarch butterflies， who often imitate each other using Mullerian Mimesis. For example， green and purple monarch butterflies look quite the same. There is also a small bug calling lycidae. Most of their bodies are red， a warning color.
Different from Batesian Mimesis， Mullerian one benefit both the mimics and those being imitated. Whatever predator mistakenly eat， next time they will make a detour seeing similar ones. Thus they together form a relation of co-mimicry， and the “Big Brother Group”. Mimesis， More than Appearance
Previously mentioned mimesises named by discoverer’s last name are not easy to remember. And mimesis is more than experience. Instead， it includes various forms that are clearer and more specific.
This mimesis is can be most easily understood as most insects would choose colors most similar to the surrounding environment. For example， there are green katydid in green grasses while brown one on dead woods， and some even change the color along with changes of the environment to suit it. The color of these mimics has a proprietary name--- protective color.
The best examples of this mimesis are stick insects and leaf insects： the former one is like a stick whereas the latter is like a leaf， vividly imitating the toughness of stick and variegation of leaves. Meanwhile， both of them are in slow mood， enjoying staying still. If not observing carefully， even smart human beings are not able to find their existence.
The best known case of this mimesis is that of the firefly （female and male fireflies of the same category recognize each other and mate through optical signals）. There is a Photuris （a cantharidae genus in the eastern United States， which includes at least 19 species）， whose female ones are called "witch Firefly" and "female evil spirit". They can freely switch the lighting mode. In addition to attracting male of their kind to mate， but can also imitate the lighting mode of female ones of the Photinus that is similar to themselves in appearance， hence trapping male Photinus to mate. Seduced males will become their delicacies， which is the victory of optical mimesis.
"Witch Firefly" eat Photinus not only for the food， but also the poisonous hotaru bufonin in its body， which in an adult Photinus can kill an adult lizard. Consequently， toxicity gained from the male Photinus can offer non-toxic "Witch firefly’s” offspring a precious heritage， less susceptible to predators. Such Mimesis is also known as aggressive Mimesis.
One example of this mimesis is Maculinea Arion， whose life is even more legendary. The females lay their eggs in thyme buds and the larvae hatch to spend for food. After three molts， the larvae fall to the ground to start a new life， waiting for the red ants take it home. Red ants come， pat its body， it secretes honey， letting red ants eat. Sugar-coated bullets attacks allow red ants take it back to the underground lair， so that other ants also can share the honey. As a weak worm， facing massive predator ants， it’s far from easy to survive！ In addition to similar body color with red ants’ larvae， this super spy can also imitate the way they squirm， issuing similar sounds and smells， so that dispelling suspicion of other ants. This mimesis with multiple forms of behavior， sound and smell enable it to cross the cold winter in the nest， feeding on the red ant eggs and larvae， hence getting adequate nutrition. After living in the nest from autumn to spring， this mimic will finally pupate. After eclosion， it flies out of the nest， meeting the outside world again， flying mating and laying eggs， generation by generation.
Seeing these unique insect mimesis， we can not help but lament the magic of creation--- in order to survive， these tiny insects also have such a witty side！ In addition to observation of ethology， increasingly progressive means of molecular biology will also become a new research direction， which will reveal genetic code behind the phenomenon of mimesis.
The Discovery of Mullerian Mimesis
Mullerian Mimesis was firstly discovered by the German naturalist Mueller. When he examined in the Amazon， he found a class of Heliconius butterflies feeding passion fruit plants， gathering toxins within their body. These butterflies not only have bright color， which is apparent warning color， but also look very close.
Elegantly dancing summer insects might be headshot by their natural enemies within seconds. In order to escape from those attacks， in order to enjoy delicacies， technical strategies are indispensable， and in this long evolution process comes mimesis of insects.
Role Play in Mimesis
Mimesis， it refers to the phenomenon a creature imitating another one or other objects in the surrounding environment hence gaining benefits， which is also known as biological mimicry. Insects are masters of mimesis in the nature， able to imitate in terms of shape， color， pattern， gesture， etc.， so as to obtain benefits--- escaping form natural enemies， or gaining survival advantages such as food.
In the insect world with both huge type and quantity， this strategy is carried out quite well. Because of their complex life history and unique mimesis， in every period of their life--- no matter egg， larva， pupa or adult， they can imitate different objects， gaining benefits for themselves.
In this good play， there are 3 roles： mimic， mock object and fool. Of course， in some mimesis case， there are only the first 2 ones.
Now it is clear， in a nutshell： through imitating targets， mimic cheat the fool. The range of mock objects is unlimited， which can be either other creatures or non-living things， as long as cheating the fools. Fools are consisted of the natural enemies of mimics as well as human beings.
In general， these three roles should be in the same "stage"， which means at the same time and in the same place. For example， we can not just rely on speculation and similarity， and confirm that some African butterflies imitate some Asian owls in eyespots， because neither the time or place suites.
Mimics forms a big group in insect world， imitating each other， benefiting themselves. Non-living creatures are common mock objects. Once imitating well， as long as they stay still， mimics can be quite safer. Sometimes， their vivid imitation can cheat both its natural enemies and human beings. However， once moving， they will be targeted by keen predators.
The appearance of some weevils feeding on plants looks like a lump of bird droppings， letting predators relaxing their vigilance. Should inadvertently encountered， it will shrink its six feet， falling on the ground， playing dead. For example， tumor beetle looks like a cloud of black worm poop falling on the leaves， hence making predators loosing appetites. Of course， in addition to avoiding predation， some insects make mimesis to ambush and attack. Dead leaf mantis is a master. They are usually motionless， looking nothing different from dead leaves， but once there is a prey， they will use their grasping leg to quickly grab it firmly and bite from the head. Angle cicada can even make subtle imitation of the projections and thorn structure of plants， lying quietly on it， sucking with the sap-sucking mouthparts.
Batesian Mimicry
Batesian mimicry refers to the phenomenon that some “good to eat” or “easy to eat” mimics try to hide from predators by imitating those “poisonous”， “not good to eat” and “trifled” ones.
Discovery of Batesian Mimesis
This mimesis was firstly discovered by British naturalist Henry Walter Bates in his scientific expedition in the 19th century in the Amazon rain forest， hence was named as Batesian Mimesis.
A classic case of Batesian comes as the North American viceroy butterflies imitating toxic monarch butterflies to avoid predators. The larvae of the latter often feed on poisonous plants， accumulating toxins in their body. For example， larvae of monarch butterflies accumulate toxins through eating poisonous asclepiadaceae plants， hence consisting toxins when growing to adult butterflies， making bird eating them vomit. Experiencing once， birds will never eat this kind of butterflies for a second time.
Via observation， Bates discovered that birds generally don’t choose monarch butterflies to eat. And some non-toxic ones， imitating patterns of those poisonous ones， successfully escape from birds.
The patterns of North American viceroy butterflies and toxic monarch butterflies are quite the same， making birds confused being unable to tell the difference hence giving up predation. Consequently， North American viceroy butterflies successfully protect themselves via mimesis.
Two Toxics： Monarch butterfly and byasa alcinous
Among all the butterflies， monarch butterfly and byasa alcinous are two toxics， larvae of the former enjoy eating poisonous Asclepiadaceae， Apocynaceae plant， while larvae of the latter prefer poisonous Aristolochia plants， accumulating toxins within the body until reaching adult period. Poisonous property makes predators give up， but also giving opportunities for mimics.
For example， golden limenitis archippus imitating golden monarch butterflies， epicopeiidae imitating byasa alcinous， which all belongs to Batesian Mimesis. Obviously， Batesian Mimesis benefits the mimics a lot， while those being imitated take it on the chin. Females imitate， males sacrifice
Interestingly， in the Batesian Mimesis cases， mostly， the females imitate poisonous butterflies while the males remain the form quite different from the females. For insects， the most important task of life is to reproduce. Therefore， females imitating poisonous ones while males sacrifice themselves without mimesis can greatly increase the probability of survival of the females in order to successfully breed more offspring. “Ladies first” is a golden rule in the insect world. To multiply the family， the males sacrifice themselves for the sake of the females.
Mullerian Mimesis：
Big Brothers” in the Insect World
Some insects look quite similar to each other， and both do not suite the taste of their predators， in this case， they form the so-called Mullerian Mimesis. One of its advantages is that once the predator finds one of them inedible or not good to eat， they will never eat similar ones next time.
In the insect world， some poisonous species are very eye-catching， sending hint to their predators from the appearance， as if to say： "I'm poisonous" "I am powerful." "Do not mess with me." And this is the meaning of coloration.
Heliconius butterflies are black and red， eye-catching warning color， and are even similar in markings are similar. Putting together， they can form a "Everybody finding fault" game. For the birds， they lose appetite immediately seeing these butterflies. In Mullerian Mimesis， the toxic creatures imitate each other and jointly improve the probability of survival. This can be said to be the extension or expansion of the coloration. Interestingly， in addition to the visual imitations， sometimes they will imitate each other in the voice signal， making ultrasonic alert with similar vibration frequency avoid this type attacks of predator like bats.
Butterflies choosing this mimesis are big brothers. Previously in the Batesian Mimesis， we’ve talked about poisonous monarch butterflies， who often imitate each other using Mullerian Mimesis. For example， green and purple monarch butterflies look quite the same. There is also a small bug calling lycidae. Most of their bodies are red， a warning color.
Different from Batesian Mimesis， Mullerian one benefit both the mimics and those being imitated. Whatever predator mistakenly eat， next time they will make a detour seeing similar ones. Thus they together form a relation of co-mimicry， and the “Big Brother Group”. Mimesis， More than Appearance
Previously mentioned mimesises named by discoverer’s last name are not easy to remember. And mimesis is more than experience. Instead， it includes various forms that are clearer and more specific.
This mimesis is can be most easily understood as most insects would choose colors most similar to the surrounding environment. For example， there are green katydid in green grasses while brown one on dead woods， and some even change the color along with changes of the environment to suit it. The color of these mimics has a proprietary name--- protective color.
The best examples of this mimesis are stick insects and leaf insects： the former one is like a stick whereas the latter is like a leaf， vividly imitating the toughness of stick and variegation of leaves. Meanwhile， both of them are in slow mood， enjoying staying still. If not observing carefully， even smart human beings are not able to find their existence.
The best known case of this mimesis is that of the firefly （female and male fireflies of the same category recognize each other and mate through optical signals）. There is a Photuris （a cantharidae genus in the eastern United States， which includes at least 19 species）， whose female ones are called "witch Firefly" and "female evil spirit". They can freely switch the lighting mode. In addition to attracting male of their kind to mate， but can also imitate the lighting mode of female ones of the Photinus that is similar to themselves in appearance， hence trapping male Photinus to mate. Seduced males will become their delicacies， which is the victory of optical mimesis.
"Witch Firefly" eat Photinus not only for the food， but also the poisonous hotaru bufonin in its body， which in an adult Photinus can kill an adult lizard. Consequently， toxicity gained from the male Photinus can offer non-toxic "Witch firefly’s” offspring a precious heritage， less susceptible to predators. Such Mimesis is also known as aggressive Mimesis.
One example of this mimesis is Maculinea Arion， whose life is even more legendary. The females lay their eggs in thyme buds and the larvae hatch to spend for food. After three molts， the larvae fall to the ground to start a new life， waiting for the red ants take it home. Red ants come， pat its body， it secretes honey， letting red ants eat. Sugar-coated bullets attacks allow red ants take it back to the underground lair， so that other ants also can share the honey. As a weak worm， facing massive predator ants， it’s far from easy to survive！ In addition to similar body color with red ants’ larvae， this super spy can also imitate the way they squirm， issuing similar sounds and smells， so that dispelling suspicion of other ants. This mimesis with multiple forms of behavior， sound and smell enable it to cross the cold winter in the nest， feeding on the red ant eggs and larvae， hence getting adequate nutrition. After living in the nest from autumn to spring， this mimic will finally pupate. After eclosion， it flies out of the nest， meeting the outside world again， flying mating and laying eggs， generation by generation.
Seeing these unique insect mimesis， we can not help but lament the magic of creation--- in order to survive， these tiny insects also have such a witty side！ In addition to observation of ethology， increasingly progressive means of molecular biology will also become a new research direction， which will reveal genetic code behind the phenomenon of mimesis.
The Discovery of Mullerian Mimesis
Mullerian Mimesis was firstly discovered by the German naturalist Mueller. When he examined in the Amazon， he found a class of Heliconius butterflies feeding passion fruit plants， gathering toxins within their body. These butterflies not only have bright color， which is apparent warning color， but also look very close.