Two Kinds of Mimicry
Written by Studio AM.
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A bird that has been stung by a wasp may avoid another insect with similar yellow and black markings. A warning pattern can therefore offer protection beyond the individual insect that first taught the bird to avoid it.
Some hoverflies resemble wasps but have no sting. If a predator treats them as dangerous, they gain protection without the same defence. This is called Batesian mimicry. Its success depends partly on what predators have encountered before, how convincing the resemblance is and how harmful the defended species is.
The relative numbers can matter too. If a predator often encounters harmless insects with the warning pattern, that pattern may become a less reliable guide. This can reduce the mimic's protection, but it does not mean harmless mimics are always rare or never successful.
Another pattern occurs when several defended species converge on a similar appearance. In this case, encounters with different species can reinforce the same warning. This is Müllerian mimicry. The important distinction is not whether the animals are honest or dishonest. It is whether the species sharing the appearance also share a defence that predators learn to avoid.
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Questions
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Question 1 of 4
What is the main idea of the passage?
The answer is D: Harmless mimics and defended look-alikes can affect a shared warning in different ways.
The passage compares a harmless species resembling a defended one with several defended species sharing an appearance.
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Question 2 of 4
What may happen if predators frequently meet harmless insects with a warning pattern?
The answer is B: The pattern may become a less reliable guide to danger.
Repeated harmless encounters can weaken the association between the pattern and a defence. The passage presents this as a possible effect, not a fixed outcome.
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Question 3 of 4
Why can resemblance among defended species reinforce a warning?
The answer is A: Encounters with different species can teach predators to avoid the same appearance.
If several species are defended, experiences with each can support avoidance of their shared appearance.
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Question 4 of 4
What does 'converge' mean in the last paragraph?
The answer is C: develop a similar appearance
The species 'converge on a similar appearance'. Here, they come to resemble one another, not necessarily live in the same place.
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