Walk Softly – Animal Mimicry

by Geoffrey Carpentier

Animal mimicry, an important adaptation which many animals employ, to lure prey or survive predators, is an adaptation where one species resembles another organism to gain a survival advantage.

Mimicry can manifest itself in many ways, through physical or behavioural means.

It can be Batesian - a distasteful or dangerous model is mimicked by a harmless one, to fool predators. For example, a Viceroy Butterfly may mimic a Monarch (which is distasteful) and escape being dinner. Apparently, Viceroy tastes just fine – but don’t tell the predators that!

Mullerian mimicry is similar, but in this case: two species, both of which are dangerous or distasteful, develop to look alike. Many wasps and hornets adopt this philosophy. This reinforces the risk to predators, as they then encounter more of these mimicked animals than they would if only one species was involved. Taking this a step further, some predators mimic a harmless creature, to lure potential prey to within striking range. For example, an Alligator Snapping Turtle, which I wrote about in a previous column, has an appendage on its tongue resembling a worm. This lure is offered to unsuspecting prey, who are looking for dinner but instead became dinner!

Finally, automimicry is a means whereby an animal mimics a part of its own body to resemble something else. Certain types of snakes, have heads which look like their tails, so predators literally don’t know which end is up.

In nature, camouflaging features can be very elaborate and make the animal almost invisible, even at close range.

Insects are by far the best at this game, adapting features which make them look like leaves blowing in the wind, or tree bark, sticks, loose gravel and so much more. Stick insects are a great example of an animal who has developed to resemble a thin twig. Since they occupy much of the planet, a single model can’t work, so they have developed into many different looking twigs, adapting size and shape to mimic the local foliage. Couple this with adaptations as to how they move and you create a perfect animal, which not only looks like a stick but moves in jerky motions to look like a twig moving in a gentle breeze.

Many animals, besides insects, use mimicry to their advantage. Chameleons are masters at disguise, to both avoid predators and to find food. They can adapt their colour rapidly and over a broad spectrum, to match the landscape which surrounds them. They are very adaptive and aren’t limited to only a few colours or patterns but seem to have the ability to match almost any background. Many other creatures can do this as well, such as octopi and many fish species.

Chameleons move in deliberate fashion, as they slowly stutter-step along a branch, in search of food. Perhaps this fools predators, because it doesn’t look like an animal walking but rather some unknown organism which may not even be food.

The woodcock, likewise, slowly walks across the forest floor, looking nothing like a bird, but rather like an odd brown thing slowly moving through the forest. So, in these cases colour and motion deceive the predator.

Using sound is another form of mimicry. Blue Jays are raucous creatures, spending much of their time making a lot of noise. Mostly, the purpose of these vocals is to chat amongst themselves, but every now and then, they produce a perfect imitation of a Red-shouldered Hawk. So, why would a prey species make a sound to possibly attract a potential predator? The risk is real, but perhaps it can be overridden by another advantage. If the Blue Jay, pretending to be a hawk, is surrounded by birds which believe the hawk is real, they may flee, and the jay would be left alone to forage available foods without competition.

Carrying this one step further though, how does a songbird, such as a mockingbird, mimicking other species somehow make it more appealing to the females of its species? Still, mockingbirds believe it to be true, and it works! Mimicry is a fascinating study which never ceases to grasp my interest.

Geoff Carpentier is a published author, expedition guide and environmental consultant. Visit Geoff on-line on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.