Camouflage and Mimicry
Many insects use camouflage and mimicry as methods of hiding from predators or ambushing prey. Walkingsticks (family Phasmatidae) are an example of insects that have developed exceptionally camouflaged bodies. For birds and other predators looking for a meal, walkingsticks are hard to see because of their twig-like appearance. Even their movements are disguised to look as if they are simply swaying in the breeze. Insects of the family Phymatidae, appropriately called ambush bugs, use camouflage for predatory purposes. They camp out in vegetation and capture bees, butterflies and other unsuspecting prey.
Instead of using camouflage to blend in with their habitat, some insects use mimicry to disguise themselves as other insects. One species of grasshopper (Condylodera tricondyloides) closely mimics the appearance and behavior of tiger beetles (genus Cicendela). By doing so, the grasshopper benefits from the beetle’s ferocious reputation, which deters predators. This type of mimicry—when a harmless, palatable insect mimics another that is either aggressive or poisonous—is called Batesian mimicry.
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| viceroy | monarch |
Certain species of butterfly are particularly adept at mimicking one another. Viceroy butterflies (Limenitis archippus) were once thought to use Batesian mimicry because of their similarities to poisonous monarch (Danaus plexippus) and queen butterflies (Danuas gilippus) in color, shape, and markings. Monarchs and queens eat milkweed, which makes them toxic. By mimicking these toxic butterflies, it was believed, viceroys avoid predation.
But researchers later found that the viceroy is unpalatable itself, which means all three species likely adapted to resemble one other. Because all three species are unpalatable, potential predators know to avoid all butterflies that look remotely like any one of the three. It was decided that the butterflies are therefore an example of convergent mimicry, called Mullerian mimicry.
