Mimicry is one of the most interesting forms of defense in nature. Sometimes an innocent and harmless insect can look like a ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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, ...

Mimicry is a survival adaptation where one species evolves to resemble another, differing from camouflage which involves blending into the environment. Some species, such as the skunk cabbage, use ...

Some bats buzz like wasps and bees when grasped, and the sound seems to deter predatory owls. The findings reveal what may be the first known case of a mammal mimicking an insect, researchers report ...

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 have discovered the first ...