Friday, August 24, 2012

Batesian mimicry

Monarch butterflies have a bitter taste to predators, so predators generally avoid them. The viceroy butterfly looks very similar, so predators avoid it too even though it is harmless. This form of mimicry, where one organism is harmful but the other is not, is called Batesian mimicry. I'm not even sure which kind of butterfly that is supposed to be on the chip clip :)

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.