See more animal camouflage here on The Conservation Report.

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See more animal camouflage here on The Conservation Report.

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There are many interesting examples of mimicry in nature, such as leaf mimicry. To illustrate nature’s diversity and make a case for conservation, I have put together some fascinating examples of mimicry found in nature.

Bee and wasp mimics: Organisms that have adapted to look like or mimic bees and wasps (which are potentially harmful organisms) do so to evade predation.  This type of defensive or protective mimicry is an example of Batesian mimicry.  According to Wikipedia, 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, [and] it is named after the English naturalist Henry Walter Bates, after his work in the rainforests of Brazil [Emphasis added].”

Photo source for attribution here

For image credits and species information go here

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Ants as spiders and spiders as ants: Read more about ant mimicry here.

Wolf in sheep’s clothing: Ant spiders or ant-mimicking spiders use an aggressive form of mimicry to prey on ants. These ant spiders are fascinating, because they do not look like typical spiders.

Photo source for attribution here

Photo source for attribution here

Photo source for attribution here

Photo source for attribution here

Photo source for attribution here

The two above ant spider images are by Tomatoskin on Flickr and were found here and here

Sheep in wolf’s clothing: Spider ants look like spiders

Photo source for attribution here

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Mimicking bird droppings/bird-dropping mimics

Bird-dropping caterpillar

Photo source for attribution here

Bird-dropping spider

Photo source for attribution here

Lantana leafminer beetles (Octotoma scabripennis)

The image showing the leafminer beetles was taken by Peter Chew in Brisbane, and it was found here

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“Sexual deception” and orchids: The bee orchid (Ophrys apifera) is a hardy temperate European orchid that depends on a symbiotic relationship with a soil-dwelling fungus. The bee orchid also uses sexual deception to achieve pollination, since “the petals of this orchid have evolved to look like a female bee sitting on a flower.” According to Wikipedia, referencing Richard Dawkins in The Blind Watchmaker, “Male bees, over many generations of cumulative orchid evolution, have built up the bee-like shape through trying to copulate with flowers, and hence carrying pollen.”

Photo source for attribution here

The fly orchid’s (Ophrys insectifera) lip is adapted to look like a “fly sitting in the middle of a flower, [and] there are two shiny blobs at the base of the lip that mimic the eyes of a fly.”

Photo source for attribution here

Pollination in action: Images of wasps being duped by orchids:

The above image was found here

The above image was found here

VIDEO: David Attenborough explains how these bee or wasp mimics achieve sexual reproduction.

VIDEO: It seems that the Australian tongue orchid’s method of sexual reproduction is harmless to the pollinator, but “researchers now find males of a species called orchid-dupe-wasps go all the way with Australian tongue orchids, wasting their precious bodily fluids in the process.”

On the Net: British Orchids: The Insect Mimics

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Mertensian mimicry occurs when both a harmless and harmful species model from a moderately harmful species. For example, “some Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum) subspecies (harmless), the moderately toxic False Coral Snakes (genus Erythrolamprus), and the deadly Coral Snakes all have a red background color with black and white/yellow stripes, [and] in this system, both the milk snakes and the deadly coral snakes are mimics, whereas the false coral snakes are the model.”

Folk culture has developed rhymes to help differentiate the venomous coral snake from non-venomous species. For example: Red and yellow, kill a fellow; red and black, venom lack.  However, these folk rhymes only work in certain areas and with some species, since variability in color patterns amongst the poisonous coral snakes and non-venomous species occur. According to Wikipedia, these folk rhymes “only reliably [apply] to coral snakes native to North America: Micrurus fulvius (Eastern or common), Micrurus tener (Texas), and Micruroides euryxanthus (Arizona), found in the southern and eastern United States, [so] coral snakes found in other parts of the world can have distinctly different patterns, have red bands touching black bands, have only pink and blue banding, or have no banding at all.”

A venomous Central American coral snake (Micrurus nigrocinctus)

Photo source for attribution here

A moderately venomous false coral snake (Erythrolamprus bizona)

The image above was found here

The harmless New Mexico milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum celaenops)

Photo source for attribution here

A non-venomous northern scarlet snake (Cemophora coccinea copei)

Photo source for attribution here

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Batesian mimicry in mammals: The less aggressive Aardwolf (Proteles cristatus) mimicking the more aggressive striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena). Can you identify or differentiate which species is which?

The striped hyena image is by Arpit – The Waders on Flickr, and the aardwolf image is by Dkaeuferle (Dominik Käuferle), and it was found here.

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I took this image on a gray January day (2009) at Lake Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge during a bird-watching trip. How many northern pintails (Anas acuta) can you find?

See more animal camouflage here on The Conservation Report.

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There is a parrot in this image.

See more animal camouflage here on The Conservation Report.

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Photo source for attribution. The author or licensor of this image does not endorse my work or me and their image is protected under an attribution license.

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See more animal camouflage here on The Conservation Report.

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This sand flathead (Platycephalus bassensis) is almost perfectly camouflaged.

See more animal camouflage here on The Conservation Report and at this Flickr group: The Camouflaged Creatures Pool.

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See more animal camouflage here on The Conservation Report and at this Flickr group: The Camouflaged Creatures Pool.

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Photo source for attribution. The author or licensor of this image does not endorse my work or me and their image is protected under an attribution license.

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The pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus bargibanti) is so well camouflage that it was only just recently discovered, and “so extreme is this camouflage that the original specimens were only noticed after their host gorgonian had been collected and observed in an aquarium.” These tiny seahorses “are found only on gorgonians (sea fans) of the genus Muricella,” so they are specialists. No doubt, there may be more species of these little sea horses that remain undescribed.

Pygmy seahorses on National Geographic:

See more animal camouflage

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See more animal camouflage here on The Conservation Report and at this Flickr group: The Camouflaged Creatures Pool.

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Photo source for attribution here, here, and here. The authors or licensors of these images do not endorse my work or me and their images are protected under an attribution license.

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See more animal camouflage

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See more animal camouflage

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These octopuses are masters at camouflage. Not only can these intelligent creatures change color but also their shape.

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Nature is fascinating, and some of Nature’s best work—or evolution rather—is illustrated by a group of animals that have evolved adapted to mimic leaves. Leaf mimics employ a heightened form of camouflage to evade detection from predators or prey. These animals make use of extraordinary color patterns, in addition to modified exoskeletons, skin, scales, and behavior to take camouflage to another level.  See more animal camouflage here.

INVERTEBRATES AS LEAVES

The “dying” leaf-mimic katydid below is a fascinating creature, and evolution natural selection has endowed it with the ability to mimic a dying leaf.

“Dying” leaf-mimic katydid image was found here and here.

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Dead leaf butterflies are extraordinary creatures to observe up close.  The specimen below illustrates the intricate details chiseled out by adaptation through natural selection, which is a driving force of evolution.  The remarkable details help the butterfly evade predation by mimicking a dead leaf.

The dead-leaf butterfly image above was found here, but the actual image is by ToddinNantou on Flickr.
Image found here

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The images and videos below show various species of leaf- and stick-mimicking praying mantises, including a dead leaf mantis (Deroplatys desiccata) and a violin mantis subadult (Gongylus gongylodes). The detail and similarity to vegetation in some species, like the specimen in the first image, is extraordinary.

Photo source for attribution here

The image above showing a dead leaf mantis (Deroplatys desiccata) camouflaged amongst some leaf litter was taken by Adrian Pingstone, and found here.

Violin mantis subadult was taken by Laurentiu on Picasa, and found here.

VIDEO: Leaf Mantis at 04:45:

VIDEO: A violin mantis catching a fly:

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Another leaf mimic katydid positions itself below.  This specimen mimics a decomposing leaf instead of a dying leaf.

“Decaying” leaf-mimic katydid image (©Martin Shields) was found here and here.

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Leaf insects or walkingleaves from the family Phylliidae are some of the best examples of leaf mimics.

Phyllium sp. image above by Sandilya Theuerkauf
Photo source for attribution here

Phyllium giganteum

Phyllium giganteum image by Drägüs was found here.

VIDEOS of walkingleaves:

From LiveScience: Ancient insects used advanced camouflage:

A fossil of a leaf-imitating insect from 47 million years ago bears a striking resemblance to the mimickers of today.
The discovery represents the first fossil of a leaf insect (Eophyllium messelensis), and also shows that leaf imitation is an ancient and successful evolutionary strategy that has been conserved over a relatively long period of time.

Hat tip to Dear Kitty. Some blog, and the fossil leaf insect image was found here.

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An unidentified species of dead leaf insect

The unidentified dead leaf insect image by Amaury Olivier Laporte was found here.

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Here are more examples of leaf-mimicking katydids.  The species directly below from Costa Rica is mimicking a dead or brown leaf.  Note the mottling or splotching of darker browns, which certainly allows this species to camouflage itself amongst decaying leaves very well.

Photo source for attribution here

Undergrowth dead-leaf katydid (Orophus sp.), Barro Colorado Island, Panama

This series of images shows several small-leaf katydids (Pseudophyllinae) from Peru and the Peruvian Amazon. The last image in the series shows a dead-leaf katydid nymph or an immature form of a small-leaf katydid.

The image showing the undergrowth dead-leaf katydid (Orophus sp.), and the series of images showing the small-leaf katydids were taken by artour_a on Flickr. Art has other images of animals from around the world and interesting examples of camouflage on Flickr.

You may or may not see the katydid in the image below right away, since it kind of jumped out at me when I first saw the image.  This specimen looks more like the katydids that use to get into my parent’s home in the United States if the door was left open too long at night during the summer months.

The green katydid image is by Mjlaff on Flickr.

This peacock katydid’s (Pterochroza ocellata) exceptional resemblance to a dead leaf is remarkable, but if its camouflage fails and a predator realizes it’s a potential meal, the peacock katydid has a behavioral trick—it can quickly flash a pair of false eyes by opening its wings to startle a predator.

The peacock katydid images are by Piotr Naskrecki on Flickr.

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Photo source for attribution here

The children’s stick insect (Tropidoderus childrenii) is found in Australia, and it mimics Eucalyptus leaves.

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Photo source for attribution here

This cuttlefish is trying its best to mimic a leaf.

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VERTEBRATES AS LEAVES

Can you find the leaf mimic frog? Leaf mimicry isn’t exclusive to insects, since some vertebrates make use of this extreme form of camouflage.

The first two leaf-mimic frog images are by ©Wolf Holzmann and were found here and here. The third leaf-mimic frog image is by Hank & Priscilla Brodkin and was found here.

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The South American or Amazon leaf fish (Monocirrhus polyacanthus) uses camouflage, mimicry, and stealth to hunt its prey. It will often sit in the water column at varying angles or sideways mimicking a dead leaf (note the individuals in the background). Its prey is quickly gulped into its hard to see large mouth.

Regarding the leaf fishes in the aquarium: South American leaf fish photo source for attribution. The author or licensor of this image does not endorse my work or me and their image is protected under an attribution license. The image showing South American leaf fishes in someone’s hand was found here, and in a fish aquarium here.

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The Uroplatus, a genus of gecko endemic to Madagascar, are sometimes referred to as leaf-tailed geckos. The first image shows an individual hibernating during cooler Malagasy weather, and the leaf-tailed gecko uses its tail to mimic a leaf or camouflage itself as it hibernates.

Photo source for attribution here and here
Satanic Leaf Tailed Gecko (Uroplatus phantasticus) image found here

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This robust ghost pipefish (Solenostomus cyanopterus) mimics a blade of sea grass, and rests at an angle similar to the South American leaf fishes above. Ghost pipefishes are relatives of pipefishes and seahorses and display some of the best camouflage found in nature. They are very ornate and showy like the weedy and leafy sea dragons. See more images of ghost pipefishes here.

Photo source for attribution here

Photo source for attribution here

Photo source for attribution here

Photo source for attribution here

Photo source for attribution here

Photo source for attribution here

There are two robust ghost pipefishes in this image:
Photo source for attribution here

Photo source for attribution here

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See more animal camouflage

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