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Herbivory is the act of eating plants and a herbivore is an animal that eats plants.

Herbivores
play an important role in the ecology of any area, influencing plant communities and individual
plant growth. The great diversity of invertebrate and vertebrate herbivores reflects the diversity
of plants.Oct 6, 2009

 Müllerian mimicry is a natural phenomenon in which two or more poisonous or venomous


species, that may or may not be closely related and share one or more common predators, have
come to mimic each other's warning signals. It is named after the German naturalist Fritz
Müller, who first proposed the concept in 1878.

Müllerian mimicry, a form of biological resemblance in which two or more unrelated noxious,
or dangerous, organisms exhibit closely similar warning systems, such as the same pattern of
bright colours. According to the widely accepted theory advanced in 1878 by the German
naturalist Fritz Müller, this resemblance, although differing from the better-known Batesian
mimicry (in which one organism is not noxious), should be considered mimicry nonetheless,
because a predator that has learned to avoid an organism with a given warning system will avoid
all similar organisms, thus making the resemblance a protective mechanism.
Batesian mimicry is a form of mimicry typified by a situation where a harmless species has evolved to
imitate the warning signals of a harmful species directed at a common predator. It is named after the
English naturalist Henry Walter Bates, after his work in the rainforests of Brazil

Batesian mimicry, a form of biological resemblance in which a noxious, or dangerous, organism


(the model), equipped with a warning system such as conspicuous coloration, is mimicked by a
harmless organism (the mimic). The mimic gains protection because predators mistake it for the
model and leave it alone. This form of mimicry is named for its discoverer, the 19th-century
English naturalist H.W. Bates. Compare Müllerian mimicry.

atesian mimicry describes a relationship between two organisms where one that is harmless,
looks almost exactly like one that is harmful. In this lesson, you'll learn about who discovered
this relationship and see examples of Batesian mimicry.

We also recommend watching Temporal Isolation: Example, Definition & Quiz and
Representativeness Heuristic: Examples, Definition & Quiz

Definition
Have you ever wondered how some animals don't get eaten by their predators? It's because
some organisms have developed anti-predator adaptations, which allow them to escape being
eaten! One of the best-known anti-predator adaptations is Batesian mimicry. This describes a
relationship where one organism that is harmless, has evolved aposematic (otherwise known as
'warning') coloration that mimics another species that is noxious, or harmful. By imitating a
harmful species, the mimic can avoid predation!

It's useful to know about Batesian mimicry for a couple of different reasons. First, if you're stuck
in the wilderness and looking for something to eat, it's good to know which animals or plants
could make you sick by eating them. The second, and this is probably the most important, has to
do with venomous animals. There are several examples of venomous snakes that display
Batesian mimicry. It's always good to know which is the harmless species and which is the
species that could really hurt you!

Background
Dr. Henry Walter Bates (1825-1892) was an English naturalist who introduced the world to the
concept of mimicry. When he returned from his most famous expedition in the Amazonian
Rainforest from 1848 to 1859, he brought back almost 15,000 species, and over 8,000 of those
had never been seen before! Dr. Bates primarily worked on butterflies, and discovered that some
species, which he knew not to be harmful when eaten, greatly resembled some species that he
knew were toxic when eaten. Thus, the concept of Batesian mimicry (named for Dr. Bates) was
born!
Dr. Henry Water Bates (1825-1892)

Examples
There are three main examples of Batesian mimicry that illustrate this concept well and explain a
couple different scenarios when mimicry is helpful to the organism. The first is two butterflies.
The Monarch butterfly is poisonous when eaten, and the Viceroy butterfly (mimic) is not.
Animals that eat butterflies (birds, frogs, toads, etc.) sense that the Monarch butterfly is
poisonous by its bright orange color. The Viceroy butterfly takes advantage of this coloration to
avoid being eaten!

Viceroy Butterfly vs. Monarch Butterfly

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