Shape mimicry in insects. What is the essence of mimicry? Mimicry: examples What is mimicry in animals

Mimicry of color

Wallace especially studied the phenomenon of mimicry from the point of view of evolutionary theory. The most widespread and long-known phenomenon is the general correspondence, harmony in the color of an animal with its habitat. Among Arctic animals, white body coloration is very common. For some - throughout the year: polar bear, polar owl, harp falcon; for others living in areas freed from snow in the summer, the brown color changes to white only in winter: arctic fox, ermine, mountain hare. The benefits of this kind of device are obvious.

Another example of widespread protective or harmonious coloration is observed in the deserts of the globe. Insects, lizards, birds and animals present here a huge selection of sand-colored forms, in all its possible shades; this is observed not only on small creatures, but even on such large ones as steppe antelopes, lions or camels. The extent to which imitative coloring generally protects from the sight of enemies is well known to every hunter; hazel grouse, woodcock, great snipe, partridges are examples.

The same phenomenon is represented on the widest scale by marine fauna: fish, crayfish and other organisms living on the bottom, due to their color and unevenness of the surface of the body, are extremely difficult to distinguish from the bottom on which they live; This similarity is further enhanced in some cases by the ability to change its color depending on the color of the bottom, which is possessed, for example, by cephalopods, some fish and crustaceans. This action is performed automatically, regulated, most often, by the retina. Light stimulation is transmitted to pigment cells with diverging fibers - chromatophores, capable of contracting, expanding and being surrounded by a halo independently of one another, creating numerous color combinations. I. Loeb defined the mechanism of this phenomenon as telephotography of an image appearing on the retina onto the surface of the body, diffuse transfer from the retina to the skin.

Among the pelagic animals of the sea, freely swimming all their lives in the water, one of the most remarkable adaptations in color is observed: among them there are precisely many forms, devoid of any color, with a glassy transparency of the body. Salps, jellyfish, ctenophores, some molluscs and worms and even fish (conger eel larvae Leptocephalidae) present a number of examples where all tissues, all organs of the body, nerves, muscles, blood, became transparent, like crystal.

Among the various cases of so-called harmonic coloring, adaptations to known lighting conditions, the play of light and shadow, are also observed. Animals that appear brightly colored and variegated outside of normal living conditions can, in fact, completely harmonize and blend in with the color of their environment. The bright, dark and yellow, transverse striping of the tiger's skin easily hides it from view in the thickets of reeds and bamboos where it lives, merging with the play of light and shadow of vertical stems and hanging leaves. The round spots on the skin of some forest animals have the same meaning: fallow deer ( Dama dama), leopard, ocelot; here these spots coincide with the round glare of light that the sun plays in the foliage of the trees. Even the variegation of the giraffe’s skin is no exception: at some distance the giraffe is extremely difficult to distinguish from the old tree trunks covered with lichens, between which it grazes.

A similar phenomenon is represented by bright, variegated fish of coral reefs.

Mimicry of form

Phyllocrania paradoxa has the shape and color of leaves

Finally, there are cases where animals acquire an extraordinary resemblance not only in color, but also in shape to individual objects among which they live, which is called imitation, M. There are especially many such examples between insects. Caterpillars of moth butterflies ( Geometridae) live on the branches of plants with which they are similar in color, and have the habit, attached with their hind legs, to stretch out and hold their body motionless in the air. In this respect, they resemble small dry twigs of plants to such an extent that the most keen and experienced eye can hardly see them. Other caterpillars resemble bird excrement, fallen birch catkins, etc.

There are known cases of external resemblance to ants (Myrmecomorphy).

Amazing adaptations are presented by tropical stick insects from the family Phasmidae: they imitate the color and shape of the body - some are dry sticks several inches long, others are leaves. Butterflies of the genus Kallima from Southeast Asia, brightly colored on the upper side of the wings, when they sit on a branch and fold their wings, they take on the appearance of a withered leaf: with short outgrowths of the hind wings, the butterfly rests on the branch, and they resemble a petiole; the pattern and color of the back side of the folded wings are so reminiscent of the color and venation of a dried leaf that at a very close distance it is extremely difficult to distinguish the butterfly from the leaves. Similar examples are known from marine fauna; so, a small fish from a group of seahorses, Phyllopteryx eques, living off the coast of Australia, thanks to numerous ribbon-like and thread-like leathery outgrowths of the body, it acquires a resemblance to the algae among which it lives. It is clear what kind of service such devices provide to animals in avoiding enemies.

Sound mimicry

There are many animals that use sound imitation as a defense mechanism. This phenomenon mainly occurs among birds. For example, the short owl, living in rodent burrows, can imitate the hissing of a snake.

Predatory grasshopper Chlorobalius leucoviridis, common in Australia, makes sounds that imitate the mating calls of female cicadas, attracting males of the corresponding species.

Predator and prey

An example of mimicry: a flower spider on an inflorescence

In other cases, camouflage similarity serves, on the contrary, as a means for predators to lie in wait and even attract prey, for example, in many spiders. Various insects from the group of praying mantises ( Mantidae) in India, while remaining motionless, present a striking resemblance to a flower, which is what attracts the insects that they catch. Finally, the phenomenon of M. in the strict sense of the word represents imitation of animals of another species.

There are brightly colored insects which, for various reasons (for example, because they are equipped with a sting or because they are able to secrete poisonous or repulsive substances of smell and taste) are comparatively protected from the attack of enemies; and next to them there are sometimes other types of insects, devoid of protective devices, but in their appearance and coloring they present a deceptive resemblance to their well-protected brothers. In tropical America, butterflies from the family Heliconids. They have large, delicate, brightly colored wings, and their color is the same on both sides - upper and lower; their flight is weak and slow, they never hide, but always land openly on the upper side of leaves or flowers; they can easily be distinguished from other butterflies and are striking from afar. All of them have liquids that emit a strong odor; according to the observations of many authors, birds do not eat or touch them; smell and taste serve as protection for them, and bright color has a warning value; this explains their large numbers, slow flight and habit of never hiding. Some other species of butterflies from the genera fly in the same areas Leptalis And Euterpe, according to the structure of the head, legs and venation of the wings, even belonging to a different family, Pieridae; but in terms of the general shape and color of the wings they are such an exact copy of the heliconids that in amateur collections they are usually mixed up and taken as one species with them. These butterflies do not have the unpleasant liquids and smell of heliconids and, therefore, are not protected from insectivorous birds; but having an external resemblance to the heliconids and flying with them, also slowly and openly, thanks to this similarity they avoid attack. There are much fewer of them in number; for several tens and even hundreds of heliconids there is one leptalid; Lost in a crowd of well-protected heliconids, defenseless leptalids, thanks to their external resemblance to them, are saved from their enemies. This is camouflage, M. Similar examples are known from various orders of insects and not only between close groups, but often between representatives of different orders; Flies are known that resemble bumblebees, butterflies that imitate wasps, etc. In all these cases, M. is accompanied by similarities in lifestyle or mutual dependence of both similar species. So, flies of a kind Volucella due to their resemblance to bumblebees or wasps, they can penetrate the nests of these insects with impunity and lay eggs; Fly larvae feed here on the larvae of the nest owners.

Sheep in wolf's clothing

Some organisms, in order to avoid attacks from predators they frequently encounter, impersonate the predators themselves. Costa Rican butterfly Brenthia hexaselena resembles a spider in appearance and movements Phiale formosa(the spider reveals the deception in only 6% of cases). One fruit fly copies the zebra jumping spider, which is a territorial predator: having met a spider, the insect spreads its wings with spider legs depicted on them and jumps up to the spider, and the spider, thinking that it has entered someone else's territory, runs away. In colonies of wandering ants in South America, there are beetles that copy ants in smell and gait.

Collective mimicry

An example of collective mimicry among caterpillars

In collective mimicry, a large group of small-sized organisms gather together in a dense cluster to create the image of a large animal (sometimes of a certain species) or plant.

Plants

Similar phenomena are known between plants: for example, dead nettle ( Lamium album) from the Lamiaceae family, its leaves are extremely reminiscent of stinging nettle ( Urtica dioica), and since nettles are protected by their stinging hairs from herbivores, this similarity can also serve as protection for dead nettles.

Pseudopanax thickifolia plant ( Pseudopanax crassifolius) in its youth has small narrow leaves that visually merge with the forest floor, and growing up to 3 m (the maximum height of the herbivorous flightless bird moa, now extinct), it produces leaves of normal shape, color and size.

Convergence

But at the same time, cases of similarity between two distant species of animals have recently become known that do not at all fit Wallace’s explanation of this phenomenon, according to which one species is an imitation of another due to the greater security of the second species, thereby deceiving its enemies. Such, for example, is the extraordinary similarity between two European moths: Dichonia aprilina And Moma orion, which, however, never fly together, since the first flies in May, the second in August-September. Or, for example, the remarkable similarity between the European butterfly Vanessa prorsa and a butterfly of the kind Phycioides, found in the Argentine Republic, with such a geographical distribution of these species cannot be a case of mimicry. In general, M. is only a special case of the phenomenon of convergence, convergence in development, the existence of which we observe in nature, but the immediate causes and conditions of which are unknown to us.

Notes

Links

Wallace, “Natural Selection”, translation by Wagner (St. Petersburg, );
Wallace, “Darwinism” (L., );
Porchinsky, “Caterpillars and butterflies of the St. Petersburg province” (“Proceedings of the Russian Entomological Society”, vol. XIX and XXV, etc.);
Beddard, “Animal coloration” (L., );
Plateau, “Sur quelques cas de faux mimétisme” (“Le naturaliste”);
Haase, “Untersuchungen über die Mimikry” (“Bibl. zoolog.” Chun & Leuckart, );
Seitz, “Allgemeine Biologie d. Schmetterlinge" (Spengel's "Zool. Jabrb", 1890-94).
Roger Caillois. Mimicry and legendary psychasthenia // Caillois R. Myth and man. Man and the sacred. M.: OGI, 2003, p. 83-104

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Synonyms:

See what “Mimicry” is in other dictionaries:

MIMICRY, a form of animal self-defense through visual deception. Animal mimics, usually harmless edible species, imitate the warning coloration of a “model,” a poisonous or dangerous species. If coloring increases an animal's chances of survival... ... Scientific and technical encyclopedic dictionary

- (English mimicry, from Greek mimikos imitative), imitative similarity of an unprotected organism with a protected one or with an inedible one; one of the types of protective coloring and shape. Mimicry in animals is expressed externally. similarity of unprotected... Biological encyclopedic dictionary

Mimicry- The external resemblance of one animal (simulator) to another animal (model), developed through the process of natural selection and usually providing certain advantages to the animal simulator. There are many different types of mimicry, including... Great psychological encyclopedia

Mimicry- Mimicry: flounder on the rocks. MIMICRY (English mimicry, from the Greek mimikos imitative), one of the types of protective coloring and shape in which an animal resembles objects in the environment, plants or others (inedible or... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (English mimicry from the Greek mimikos imitative), animals have one of the types of protective coloring and shape, in which the animal resembles environmental objects, plants, inedible or predatory animals. Helps preserve... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

the imitative resemblance of some animals, mainly insects, to other species, providing protection from enemies. It is difficult to draw a clear boundary between it and a protective color or form. In the narrowest sense, mimicry is the imitation by a species, defenseless against some predators, of the appearance of a species avoided by these potential enemies due to inedibility or the presence of special means of defense. For example, a butterfly Limenitis archippus imitates a butterfly Danaus plexippus, which is not pecked by birds because it tastes unpleasant. However, mimicry in relation to insects can also be called several other types of protective adaptations. For example, a stick insect looks like an “inanimate” thin twig. The pattern on the wings of many butterflies makes them almost indistinguishable against the background of tree bark, mosses or lichens. Strictly speaking, this is a protective coloring, but there is a clear protective imitation of other objects, i.e., in a broad sense, mimicry.

Daytime butterflies. In North America, the most striking example of mimicry is the imitation of a butterfly Limenitis archippus(its English name is viceroy, viceroy) to another butterfly Danaus plexippus(this large beautiful butterfly is called a monarch). They are very similar in color, although the imitation is somewhat smaller than the original and has an “extra” black arc on the hind wings. This mimicry is limited to adults (adults), and the caterpillars of the two species are completely different. In the “original” , the caterpillars bear a bright black-yellow-green pattern, which is boldly displayed to birds and other predators. The larvae of the imitator species, on the contrary, are inconspicuous, speckled, and look like bird droppings. Thus, the adult stage here serves as an example of mimicry in the narrow sense of the word, and the caterpillar shows protective coloration.

Night butterflies. Most of the literature on mimicry describes it using the example of representatives of the order Lepidoptera, but excellent examples of imitation are also known among other groups of insects and other animals. The caterpillars of one of the South American species of hawkmoths look extremely unremarkable in a calm state, however, if they are disturbed, they rear up and arch their body, inflating its front end. The result is a complete illusion of a snake's head. For greater authenticity, the caterpillars slowly sway from side to side.

Spiders. As you know, spiders are the worst enemies of insects. However, the spider Synemosina antidae is so similar to an ant that only by looking closely can one recognize the mimicry. On the other hand, some ants and other insects at certain stages of their development resemble spiders in appearance and habits.

Bees and wasps. These insects serve as favorite role models. Their appearance and behavior are copied by many types of flies. Some of the imitators not only use the wasp coloration, but when caught, they pretend that they are going to sting and buzz almost the same way as the “originals”. Also similar to bees and wasps are in flight or at rest many species of moths from several families.

Beetles. Thousands of insect species imitate animal excrement in their appearance. Many beetles resort to this form of mimicry, which complement their resemblance to animal feces by pretending to be dead when they sense danger. Other beetles resemble plant seeds in their dormant state.

Stick insects. The most amazing imitators include representatives of the order of stick insects, or ghost insects. At rest, these insects are almost indistinguishable from thin twigs. At the first appearance of danger, they freeze, but when the fear passes, they begin to move slowly, and if after a short period of time they are disturbed again, they fall from the plant to the ground. The famous representatives of the leaf family, found in the Pacific and South Asian regions, are so similar to the leaves of some plants that they can only be noticed when they move. In this regard, the only ones that can compete with them are the leaf butterflies, which on a branch are indistinguishable from a dry leaf of a plant. Some species of daytime butterflies have chosen a different method of camouflage: their wings are transparent, so these insects are almost invisible in flight.

Other forms of mimicry. Mimicry is one of the least studied areas of entomology. Unfortunately, traditionally the main attention here was paid to cases of imitation in adults, and only recently has interest in the imitation capabilities of immature stages of insects begun to increase. Perhaps one of the most effective types of mimicry is the complete loss by an animal of external resemblance to an animate object and, in general, to anything specific (a kind of “anti-mimicry”). There are known bugs whose legs, chest or head shape is so atypical for living creatures that the insect as a whole looks completely “non-bug-like”. In some cockroaches, grasshoppers, bedbugs, spiders and many other species, the “dismembering” coloring of the body, consisting of irregular stripes and spots, seems to break its contours, allowing the animal to blend more completely with the background. Legs, antennae and other body parts sometimes look so “atypical” that this alone scares off potential predators. Harmless diurnal insects often achieve external resemblance to stinging or inedible species thanks to the movements of their bicolored legs.

MIMICRY
the imitative resemblance of some animals, mainly insects, to other species, providing protection from enemies. It is difficult to draw a clear boundary between it and a protective color or form. In its narrowest sense, mimicry is the imitation by a species, defenseless against some predators, of the appearance of a species avoided by these potential enemies due to inedibility or the presence of special means of defense. For example, the butterfly Limenitis archippus imitates the butterfly Danaus plexippus, which is not eaten by birds because it tastes unpleasant. However, mimicry in relation to insects can also be called several other types of protective adaptations. For example, a stick insect looks like an “inanimate” thin twig. The pattern on the wings of many butterflies makes them almost indistinguishable against the background of tree bark, mosses or lichens. Strictly speaking, this is a protective coloring, but there is a clear protective imitation of other objects, i.e., in a broad sense, mimicry.

Forms of mimicry. There are three main types of mimicry - apathetic, sematic and epigamic.
Apathetic mimicry is the resemblance of a species to an object in the natural environment - animal, plant or mineral origin. Due to the diversity of such objects, this type of mimicry falls into many smaller categories. Sematic (preventive) mimicry is the imitation in shape and color of a species avoided by predators due to the presence of special means of defense or an unpleasant taste. It is found in larvae, nymphs, adults and possibly even pupae. Epigamic mimicry, or coloration, can be observed in sexually dimorphic species. An inedible animal is imitated either by males or females. In this case, females sometimes imitate several differently colored species that are found either in a given area in different seasons, or in different parts of the range of the imitating species. Darwin considered this type of mimicry to be the result of sexual selection, in which the defenseless form becomes more and more similar to the protected one as less perfect imitators are destroyed by natural enemies. Those who manage to more accurately copy someone else's appearance survive due to this similarity and give birth to offspring. Ratio of numbers of copied and copying species. An inedible form copied by another species must obviously be so abundant that natural enemies very quickly (after the first one or two attempts to feast on individuals of the corresponding appearance) learn to avoid it. If there are more imitators than originals, such training will naturally be delayed, and both the original and the copy will have to suffer from this. As a rule, the number of copied individuals is many times higher than that of copying individuals, although there may be rare exceptions, for example, when development conditions for the former are unfavorable, while for the latter they are close to ideal.
Examples of mimicry. Daytime butterflies. In North America, the most striking example of mimicry is the imitation of the butterfly Limenitis archippus (its English name is viceroy, viceroy) of another butterfly - Danaus plexippus (this large, beautiful butterfly is called the monarch). They are very similar in color, although the imitation is somewhat smaller than the original and has an “extra” black arc on the hind wings. This mimicry is limited to adults (adults), and the caterpillars of the two species are completely different. The “original” has caterpillars with a bright black-yellow-green pattern, which is boldly displayed to birds and other predators. The larvae of the imitator species, on the contrary, are inconspicuous, speckled, and look like bird droppings. Thus, the adult stage here serves as an example of mimicry in the narrow sense of the word, and the caterpillar shows protective coloration.

Mimicry is widespread in many regions of Southeast Asia and Australia. Among the butterflies living here, Danaids and many species of swallowtails have an unpleasant taste for birds and other predators. Their appearance is, as far as possible, copied by completely edible species of swallowtails and butterflies of other families. Moreover, sometimes sailboats and Danaids, protected from enemies, copy each other’s appearance no less skillfully than their defenseless imitators do. A similar situation is observed in the tropics of America and Africa. One of the classic examples of mimicry is the African butterfly Hypolimmas misippus, which, depending on the geographical area, imitates different species of Danaids and, thus, itself is represented by externally different forms. Night butterflies. Most of the literature on mimicry describes it using the example of representatives of the order Lepidoptera, but excellent examples of imitation are also known among other groups of insects and other animals. The caterpillars of one of the South American species of hawkmoths look extremely unremarkable in a calm state, however, if they are disturbed, they rear up and arch their body, inflating its front end. The result is a complete illusion of a snake's head. For greater authenticity, the caterpillars slowly sway from side to side. Spiders. As you know, spiders are the worst enemies of insects. However, the spider Synemosina antidae is so similar to an ant that only by looking closely can one recognize the mimicry. On the other hand, some ants and other insects at certain stages of their development resemble spiders in appearance and habits. Bees and wasps. These insects serve as favorite role models. Their appearance and behavior are copied by many types of flies. Some of the imitators not only use wasp coloring, but when caught, they pretend that they are going to sting and buzz almost the same way as the “originals”. Many species of moths from several families also resemble bees and wasps - in flight or at rest. Beetles. Thousands of insect species imitate animal excrement in their appearance. Many beetles resort to this form of mimicry, which complement their resemblance to animal feces by pretending to be dead when they sense danger. Other beetles resemble plant seeds in their dormant state. Stick insects. The most amazing imitators include representatives of the order of stick insects, or ghost insects. At rest, these insects are almost indistinguishable from thin twigs. At the first appearance of danger, they freeze, but when the fear passes, they begin to move slowly, and if after a short period of time they are disturbed again, they fall from the plant to the ground. The famous representatives of the leaf family, found in the Pacific and South Asian regions, are so similar to the leaves of some plants that they can only be noticed when they move. In this regard, the only ones that can compete with them are the leaf butterflies, which on a branch are indistinguishable from a dry leaf of a plant. Some species of daytime butterflies have chosen a different method of camouflage: their wings are transparent, so these insects are almost invisible in flight.
Other forms of mimicry. Mimicry is one of the least studied areas of entomology. Unfortunately, traditionally the main attention here was paid to cases of imitation in adults, and only recently has interest in the imitation capabilities of immature stages of insects begun to increase. Perhaps one of the most effective types of mimicry is the complete loss by an animal of external resemblance to an animate object and, in general, to anything specific (a kind of “anti-mimicry”). There are known bugs whose legs, chest or head shape is so atypical for living creatures that the insect as a whole looks completely “non-bug-like”. In some cockroaches, grasshoppers, bedbugs, spiders and many other species, the “dismembering” coloring of the body, consisting of irregular stripes and spots, seems to break its contours, allowing the animal to blend more completely with the background. Legs, antennae and other body parts sometimes look so “atypical” that this alone scares off potential predators. Harmless diurnal insects often achieve external resemblance to stinging or inedible species thanks to the movements of their bicolored legs.

Collier's Encyclopedia. - Open Society. 2000 .

Synonyms:

See what "MIMICRY" is in other dictionaries:

- (mimicry obsolete), mimicry, pl. no, female (English mimicry from Greek mimeomai I imitate). Involuntary, imitative reproduction by some animals, for the purpose of self-defense, of the forms and colors of other animals or the environment (biol.). || transfer... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

Similarity, mimetism, disguise Dictionary of Russian synonyms. mimicry noun, number of synonyms: 3 disguise (20) ... Synonym dictionary

See Art. Protective coloring and shape of animals. Ecological encyclopedic dictionary. Chisinau: Main editorial office of the Moldavian Soviet Encyclopedia. I.I. Dedu. 1989. Mimicry (from the Greek mimikos imitative) protective coloring or form... ... Ecological dictionary

mimicry- and outdated mimicry... Dictionary of difficulties of pronunciation and stress in modern Russian language

Mimicry- Mimicry ♦ Mimétisme The ability to become different, that is, similar to something that you are not, imitating it against your own will. Mimicry is more related to physiology and impregnation (penetration. - Approx. Per.) than to conscious... ... Sponville's Philosophical Dictionary

MIMICRY, and, female. (specialist.). In some animals and plants: similarity in color and shape with the environment, which helps them in the struggle for existence. Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 … Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

Books

Mimicry, G. D. H. Carpenter, Along with the presentation of classical facts and theories on mimicry by Bates, Wallace, Muller and others, the book contains a large number of the latest facts discovered by modern researchers and... Category:

Mimicry (imitation, masking, mimetisme, mimicry) is an expression originally introduced into zoology (by Bates) to designate some special cases of extreme external similarity between different species of animals belonging to different genera and even families and orders; Usually, however, the same name is used to designate all pronounced cases of imitative coloring and the resemblance of animals to inanimate objects. Wallas especially studied these phenomena from the point of view of Darwin's theory of natural selection. The most widespread and long-known phenomenon is the general correspondence, harmony, in the color of an animal with its habitat. Among Arctic animals, white body coloring is very often observed, in some - throughout the year: polar bear, snowy owl, Greenland falcon; In others, living in areas freed from snow in the summer, the brown color is replaced only by white in the winter: arctic fox, ermine, white hare. The benefits of this kind of device are obvious.

The same phenomenon is represented on the widest scale by marine fauna: fish, crayfish and other organisms living on the bottom, due to their color and unevenness of the surface of the body, can be extremely difficult to distinguish from the bottom on which they live; This similarity is further enhanced in some cases by the ability to change its color, depending on the color of the bottom, which is possessed, for example. cephalopods, some fish and crustaceans. Among the pelagic animals of the sea, freely swimming all their lives in the water, one of the most remarkable adaptations in color is observed: among them there are many forms, devoid of any color, with a glassy transparency of the body. Salps, jellyfish, ctenophores, some mollusks and worms, and even fish (larvae of conger eels Leptocephalidae) represent a number of examples where all tissues, all organs of the body, nerves, muscles, blood, became transparent like crystal.

Among various cases, the so-called. harmonious coloring also shows adaptations to known lighting conditions and the play of light and shadow. Animals that appear brightly colored and variegated outside normal living conditions can, in fact, completely harmonize and blend in with the color of their environment. The bright, dark and yellow, transverse striping of the tiger's skin easily hides it from view in the thickets of reeds and bamboos where it lives, merging with the play of light and shadow of vertical stems and hanging leaves. The round spots on the skin of some forest animals have the same meaning: fallow deer (Dama vulgaris), panther, ocelot; here these spots coincide with the round glare of light that the sun plays in the foliage of the trees. Even the variegation of the giraffe’s skin is no exception: at some distance the giraffe is extremely difficult to distinguish from the old tree trunks covered with lichens, between which it grazes. A similar phenomenon is represented by bright, variegated fish of coral reefs.

Finally, there are cases when animals acquire an extraordinary resemblance, not only in color, but also in shape, with individual objects among which they live, which is called imitation, mimicry. There are especially many such examples among insects. Caterpillars of moth butterflies (Geometridae) live on the branches of plants with which they are similar in color, and have the habit of attaching themselves with their hind legs, stretching out their bodies and holding them motionless in the air. In this respect, they resemble small dry twigs of plants to such an extent that the most keen and experienced eye can hardly see them. Other caterpillars resemble bird excrement, fallen birch catkins, etc.

Amazing adaptations are represented by tropical Orthoptera from the family. Phasmidae: they imitate the color and shape of the body - some dry sticks, several inches long. lengths, others - leaves. Butterflies from the genus Kallima, on the Sunda Islands, brightly colored on the upper side of the wings, when they sit on a branch and fold their wings, take the form of a withered leaf: with short outgrowths of the hind wings the butterfly rests on the branch, and they resemble a petiole; the pattern and color of the back side of the folded wings are so reminiscent of the color and venation of a dried leaf that at a very close distance it is extremely difficult to distinguish the butterfly from the leaves. Similar examples are known in the marine fauna; thus, a small fish from the seahorse breed, Phillopteryx eques, living off the coast of Australia, thanks to the numerous ribbon-like and thread-like leathery outgrowths of the body, acquires a resemblance to the algae among which it lives. It is clear what kind of service such devices provide for protecting animals from enemies. In other cases, camouflage similarity serves, on the contrary, as a means for predators to lie in wait and even attract prey, for example. in many spiders. Various insects from the group of praying mantises (Mantidae) in India have, while remaining motionless, a striking resemblance to a flower, which attracts the insects that they catch.

Finally, the phenomenon of mimicry in the strict sense of the word represents the imitation of animals of another species. There are brightly colored insects that, for various reasons (for example, because they are equipped with a sting, or due to the ability to secrete poisonous or repulsive substances) are relatively safe; and next to them there are sometimes other types of insects, devoid of protective devices, but in their appearance and coloring they present a deceptive resemblance to their well-protected brothers. In tropical America, butterflies from the family are extremely common. Heliconidae They have large, delicate, brightly colored wings, and their color is the same on both sides - upper and lower; their flight is weak and slow, they never hide, but always land openly, on the upper side of leaves or flowers; they can easily be distinguished from other butterflies and are striking from afar. All of them have liquids that emit a strong odor; according to the observations of many authors, birds do not eat or touch them; smell and taste serve as protection for them, and bright color has a warning value; this explains their large numbers, slow flight and habit of never hiding.

In the same areas fly some other species of butterflies, from the genera Leptalis and Euterpe, which, based on the structure of the head, legs and venation of the wings, even belong to another family Pieridae; but in terms of the general shape and color of the wings they are such an exact copy of the heliconids that in amateur collections they are usually mixed up and taken as one species with them. These butterflies do not have the unpleasant liquids and smell of heliconids, and, therefore, are not protected from insectivorous birds; but having an external resemblance to the heliconids and flying with them also slowly and openly, thanks to this similarity they avoid attack. There are much fewer of them in number; for several tens and even hundreds of heliconids there is one leptalid; Lost in a crowd of well-protected heliconids, defenseless deptalids, thanks to their external resemblance to the nima, are saved from their enemies. This is camouflage, mimicry. Similar examples are known from various orders of insects and not only between close groups, but often between representatives of different orders; there are known flies that resemble bumblebees, butterflies that imitate wasps, etc. In all these cases, mimicry is accompanied by similarities in lifestyle or mutual dependence of both similar species. Thus, flies of the genus Volucella, due to their resemblance to bumblebees or wasps, can penetrate the nests of these insects with impunity and lay eggs; Fly larvae feed here on the larvae of the nest owners.

Similar phenomena are known between plants: the dead nettle (Laimum album from the Lamiaceae) is extremely reminiscent of the stinging nettle (Unica dioica) in its leaves; just as nettle is protected by its stinging hairs from herbivores, this similarity can also serve as protection for the dead nettle. But at the same time, cases of similarity between two distant species of animals have recently become known that do not at all fit Wallas’s explanation of this phenomenon, according to which one species is an imitation of another, due to the greater security of the second species, thus deceiving its enemies. Such, for example, is the extraordinary similarity between two European moths, Dichonia aprilina and Moma orion, which, however, never fly together, since the first flies in May, the second in August - September. Or, for example, the remarkable similarity between the European butterfly Vanessa prorsa and between a butterfly of the genus Phycioides found in the Argentine Republic, given the geographical distribution of these species, cannot be a case of mimicry. In general, mimicry is only a special case of the phenomenon of convergence, convergence in development, the existence of which we observe in nature, but the immediate causes and conditions of which are unknown to us.

Wed. Wallace "Natural Selection", trans. Wagner (St. Petersburg, 1878); Wallace, "Darwinism" (L., 1890); Porchinsky, "Caterpillars and butterflies of the St. Petersburg province." (“Proceedings of the Russian Entomological Society”, vol. XIX and XXV, 1885 and 1890); Beddard,"Animal coloration" (L., 1894); Plateau, "Sur quelques cas de fauxmimelisme" ("Le naluraliste", 1894); Haase, "Untersuchun gen uber dieMimikry" ("Bibl. zoolog." Chun & Leuckart, 1893); Seitz, "AllgemelneBiologie d. Schmetterlinge" (Spengel's "Zool. Jabrb 1890 - 94). V.F.

As you know, nature does not create anything inappropriate. Any device that she has endowed with a living organism is necessarily functional and practical. And of the camouflage abilities acquired by plants, insects, birds and other animals in the process of evolution, only those that reliably help survival remain. In order to understand the essence of mimicry, it is necessary to understand what it is like and what it is intended for.

Types of mimicry

The camouflage of living creatures can be divided into groups according to different characteristics. The first of these is the goals of mimicry, which are divided into two groups:

Aggressive: A predator blends into the background to ambush prey. Most often this is behavioral or color mimicry. Examples of hunting animals that use it can be listed for a long time: the lion blends into the savanna, the stripes of the tiger make it invisible in the taiga, the polar bear is invisible against the background of ice and snow.
Passive: designed to disguise an edible animal. It is more complex, even if expressed only in color.

Types of mimicry according to the techniques used can be divided as follows:

Color mimicry

The most common type of camouflage. The simplest option - merging with the surrounding background - is used for both aggressive and passive purposes. Most living creatures that use this camouflage “wear” the color throughout their lives. However, there are also variations of color mimicry. The first of these is seasonal color change. An example would be the white hare.

An even more complex camouflage mechanism is found in lower organisms, which are capable of changing color depending on the background in which they find themselves. To merge with the color of the surface is the essence of color mimicry. The most famous example is the chameleon, which is able to “color” itself even in colors. But it is not alone in its skills: the caterpillar Smerinthus tiliae remains green while sitting on a leaf, and turns brown while traveling along the trunk.

Copying dangerous views

In principle, this also applies to color mimicry. However, the option is even more intricate. Masking as poisonous and inedible species is used by insects, reptiles and amphibians. The mimicry of butterflies is the most diverse in this regard. For example, the harmless white butterfly wears the colors of the wings of a poisonous heliconid. They can only be distinguished by their body structure. However, they copy not only their relatives. The tropical Caligo butterfly has a very convincing pattern on its wings, similar to the eyes of an owl.

Still, masquerading as dangerous relatives is more popular in the living world. An analogue of our snake - the striated king snake - wears a deadly poisonous war color, and the harmless frog Allobates zaparo is painted to look like a very dangerous one, called Epipedobates bilinguis. However, dinner “eyes” - spots on the top of the head - are also a deterrent technique.

The main condition that must be met for the “at risk” disguise to work is that the number of mimics must be lower than the number of those being copied. Predators periodically still “test” inedible prey. And if it tastes good even half the time, the protective coloring will stop working.

Imitation of the environment

It is very common not only on land, but also in sea and ocean waters. To become like non-food is the essence of this type of mimicry. The round crab that uses it resembles a pebble, the palemon shrimp resembles brown pimply algae where it lives. Such mimicry can also be temporary, behavioral: a hiding octopus draws its tentacles under itself, changes color (as we see, there is even a combination of two types of camouflage) and arches its “back.” Result: what you see is a boring and unnecessary stone.

Controversy surrounding mimicry

In recent years, many scientists have begun to doubt the reliability of this method of protection - at least the imitative one. The fact is that camouflage-mimicry is based mainly on optical illusion. But they even focus not only on visual images, but also on smell. Accordingly, if it smells good, they may notice that the stick insect looks like a twig and eat it. Scaring colors, in their opinion, are more effective - the bird will not fly close enough to check whether the owl's eye is real and looking at it from the tree. Moreover, leaf beetle insects that feed on foliage often eat their relatives, confusing them with their natural food. And the caterpillars, called earthworms, are cut off by a gardener who confuses them with sprouts. However, it is much easier to deceive a person than your natural enemies. However, from all that has been said, we can conclude that the question of what the essence of mimicry is again remains unanswered.