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Mimicry means an act of imitation, but in the animal kingdom it is defined as “the close external resemblance of an animal … to another animal, plant or inanimate object.” Animals mimic other animals, plants, and other objects in a variety of ways, from visual mimicry to auditory and olfactory imitation.
At its core, animal mimicry is always about survival, but sometimes it means using clever mimicry to catch food, and sometimes it means using mimicry to avoid being eaten. Predators will use the former, known as aggressive mimicry, while the prey will use defensive mimicry to defend themselves.
Insects are the most common animal mimics, but not the only ones. Here are ten animals that use mimicry in the most interesting ways.
# 10 The Animal That Uses Mimicry To Survive: The Catidids
The catidid is a humble little insect, so it might seem odd that it ranks first. However, Katydids get the highest scores because some Katydids use both aggressive and defensive mimicry to ensure their survival. They use their mimicry skills to mimic the reaction of a female cicada to the mating call of male cicadas, luring unsuspecting male cicadas into becoming dinner. However, katidids also look like the bright green leaves of trees, protecting them from other predators.
# 9 The animal that uses mimicry to survive: moths
Butterflies can be absolute masters of defensive mimicry. Different types of butterflies look like a huge variety of other animals and plants. Moths can mimic owls, frogs, wasps, twisted dead leaves, jumping spiders, praying mantises, cicadas, and many other species. While many of them use body shape and coloration, many others have developed some sort of eye spots on their wings to make them look like much larger animals. The eyes also protect them because predators don’t like to attack prey that is looking back at them! Some species of butterflies may even mimic the sounds of other butterflies to protect them from predators who do not like the taste of the mimicked species.
# 8 The Beast That Uses Mimicry to Survive: Deadly Hawk
The death-headed hawk has similar markings to that of a bee, but this is not the primary mimicry it uses for survival. This moth actually emits a scent that mimics that of a honey bee, allowing it to enter the hive and eat honey without being attacked and killed for theft. Some have also suggested that the squeak that this moth makes is similar to that of a queen bee, which further protects it.
# 7 The animal that uses mimicry to survive: the caterpillar
Since caterpillars are the larval stage of butterflies and moths, they must help ensure the survival of themselves and the creatures they will eventually become. To this end, caterpillars have developed many wonderful mimicry techniques that help them stay alive. Caterpillars can look like tiny twigs and other plant parts. Their markings also often make them look like baby snakes. On one occasion, they evolved so cleverly that they looked like bird droppings on a leaf!
# 6 The Animal That Uses Mimicry For Survival: The Spider-Tailed Horned Viper
The spider horned viper’s skin mimics the rocks of the area where it lives, but this is not the only mimicry trick she knows. This adorable snake lures birds of prey into its clutches using a clever form of aggressive mimicry. As the name suggests, this snake’s tail has turned into a spider. When there is a bird nearby, the spider-tailed horned viper hides its body among the stones and moves its tail, imitating the movements of a large spider. When a bird tries to kill it, a viper attacks it instead.
# 5 An animal that uses mimicry to survive: Praying mantis
A great example of the use of mimicry for survival is Mantis. The different Mantis species can look like a collection of plants and plant parts. Some look like dead leaves or sticks. Others look like a small shoot with leaves. They all use camouflage to avoid predators, although it is also useful for catching some prey by surprise. However, the female mantis orchid uses a very clever and beautiful method of aggressive mimicry. Their bodies not only look like orchids to lure small pollinators into food, but their coloration is actually brighter than real flowers, making them more attractive “flowers” for luring their prey.
# 4 The Animal That Uses Mimicry For Survival: The Robber Fly
Another example of aggressive mimicry is the robber fly of the genus Lapria… These flies are almost identical to bumblebees, and they use this similarity to feast on real bees, wasps and a host of other insects that are not afraid of them because they consider them to be bumblebees that pose no threat. Different types of robber flies can resemble different insects, and they all use this mimicry to lure their prey.
# 3 The animal that uses mimicry for survival:
st
ick beetle
Probably the most famous of the insect mimics is the stick beetle, also often called the cane. The name speaks for itself. This is a bug that turned into a stick millions of years ago. There are 3000 species of stick insects around the world. Because of this, not all stick insects look the same, as not all trees look the same. Stick beetles will look like sticks from trees found in their natural habitat. This also means they vary greatly in size, with the largest golf club measuring an impressive 21 inches!
# 2 An animal that uses mimicry to survive: the angler
Another well-known animal that uses mimicry for survival is the anglerfish. This fish is completely unattractive to the human eye, but its mimicry system makes it very attractive to unsuspecting prey. The female anglerfish lives deep in the ocean and finds food with a luminous tip of her spine that dangles in front of her mouth like a fishing rod to lure another fish that is twice its size.
# 1 The animal that uses mimicry to survive: the governor butterflies
Most American high school students learned about this first entry on our list in elementary school. The viceroy butterfly would be a tasty treat for many birds and other insect-loving predators, but over time it has evolved into almost identical to another insect that is not so tasty – the monarch butterfly. The markings are not an exact match, but imitation is enough to help the Viceroy withstand most cursory checks.
Next: Burnedoodle vs. Goldendoodle: 6 Key Differences Explained
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