Insects That Can’t Beat Them Scare Them

In one area of Costa Rica alone, a team of researchers led by Daniel H. Janzen and Winnie Hallwachs of the University of Pennsylvania and John M. Burns of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History have discovered hundreds of species of moths and butterflies whose caterpillars or chrysalises display false eye and face patterns that mimic those of snakes, lizards or other animals. In a study published this week in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they propose that this plethora of counterfeit patterns has evolved to exploit birds’ innate instinct to avoid potential predators.

The idea is a fresh twist on the well-established phenomenon of mimicry among animals. First described by the British explorer Henry Walter Bates in the 1860s (the subject of my column on Feb. 16), the original insight was that harmless, edible species could gain protection from predators by resembling distasteful, noxious species.
NY Times By SEAN B. CARROLL/continue reading