Every Type of Mimicry Explained

Harmless prey species including eastern tiger swallowtail caterpillars, cheetah cubs, and hoverflies evolve to resemble dangerous organisms, deceiving predators into avoiding them.

Dangerous organisms including poison dart frogs, bees, wasps, venomous octopuses, and flamboyant cuttlefish display bright conspicuous coloration advertising their toxicity or defensive capabilities.

Highly venomous coral snakes mimic less toxic false coral snakes in the only well-understood case of deadly organisms mimicking less dangerous ones.

Passiflora plants mimic Heliconius butterfly eggs on their own leaves to deter female butterflies from laying additional eggs that would parasitize the plant.

North American caterpillars evolve to mimic tropical snake species from distant hemispheres, targeting the learned fears of migratory bird predators.

Multiple unpalatable or dangerous species including monarch and viceroy butterflies, bees and wasps converge on shared warning signals, mutually benefiting from common aposematic patterns.