Mimicry

Abstract

Mimicry is the resemblance of one species to another for protective, or aggressive, purposes. It is not dependent upon affinity and involves only those characteristics which can deceive the senses of a predator. Thus the markings on the abdomen of a wasp may be copied upon the closed elytra of a beetle. Also the similar colours of two mimetic species may be of very different chemical constitutions or one may be pigmentary and the other structural. A mimetic resemblance can involve any of the features by which one animal may judge the identity of another: structure, pattern, coloration, behaviour, scent, and sound-protection. Wickler (1968) gives a good popular account of the subject in which its genetic and evolutionary aspects are treated at a superficial level, but the illustrations, both in colour and in black-and-white, are excellent.