Biology | What Is Batesian Mimicry?
What is Batesian mimicry?
Mimicry is the practice by which the members of one species imitate certain characteristics of another species in order to gain some advantage. One form of mimicry, explained in 1861 by British naturalist Henry Walter Bates (1825—1892), is called Batesian mimicry. Bates proposed that a nontoxic species can evolve, especially in color and color pattern, to look like another species that is toxic (poisonous if eaten) or is for some other reason distasteful to predators. A classic example of Batesian mimicry is the viceroy butterfly, which resembles the unpalatable monarch butterfly.
Another form of mimicry, described in 1878 by German-born zoologist Fritz Miiller (1821-1897), is called Miillerian mimicry. Miiller found that in some cases two or more toxic species evolved to resemble one another. Since predators learn to avoid all toxic organisms of a similar appearance, the members of all...
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