Mimicry is one of the most interesting forms of defense in nature. Sometimes an innocent and harmless insect can look like a terrifying snake, scaring off predators. One example is the hawk moth ...
Eleanor has an undergraduate degree in zoology from the University of Reading and a master’s in wildlife documentary production from the University of Salford. Eleanor has an undergraduate degree in ...
A chance encounter in a Panama rainforest has uncovered a new defensive behavior in white-necked Jacobin hummingbird chicks. In March 2024, Michael Castaño of the Smithsonian Tropical Research ...
The white-necked jacobin (Florisuga mellivora) is a jewel-toned hummingbird found in the neotropical lowlands of South America and the Caribbean. It shimmers blue and green in the sunlight as it flits ...
In Batesian mimicry, a harmless species imitates a more dangerous one in an evolutionary “ruse” that affords the mimic protection from would-be predators. Now, researchers reporting in Current Biology ...
A study suggests that climate change-associated seasonal shifts alter the effectiveness of animal mimicry. Batesian mimics are organisms with traits that imitate poisonous or otherwise dangerous prey, ...