Description:
Many creatures wear disguises in order to keep safe from predators,
but there are some that dress to kill. Orchid mantises are one of nature¡¯s
most awesome examples of aggressive mimicry. These killer insects are
almost indistinguishable from orchids! Scientists recently learned that their
disguise doesn¡¯t work quite how we thought it did.
Transcription:
In 1879, when James Hingsley returned to Australia from Indonesia he brought
back tales of an orchid that engulfed butterflies in its petals and devoured them
alive. A carnivorous plant more beautiful and ravenous than any other.
But that fantastical creature was no plant – it was a predator... dressed to kill.
Blending in is a great way to stay alive, but it can be just as useful for the hunter
as the hunted. That butterfly-eating beast from Indonesia? That isn¡¯t an orchid
at all. It¡¯s an orchid mantis, an insect native to the rainforests of Southeast Asia.
These beautiful bugs exhibit a behavior called aggressive mimicry: that¡¯s using
a disguise not to hide, but to stand out. It¡¯s counterintuitive, but you¡¯ve probably
come across one such creature before. Nope, not waldo. Like a snapping turtle¡¯s
wriggly worm-tongue, or an Angler fish¡¯s luminous bait, some animals use the
promise of food to conceal more deadly intentions. Some parasites even mimic
their hosts¡¯ prey to get swallowed. Other mimics rely on smellovision to do the
trick. One spider attracts prey by sending out a chemical signal that female moths
usually use to attract mates. Like the plants they¡¯re named after, these mantises
use their looks to flirt. Orchids display beautiful patterns to attract their favorite
pollinators: bees and flies. And with their petaled legs wrapped in pinks and
yellows,orchid mantises can disappear amongst those forests of flowers.
They wear such a good disguise, that every so often an insect *looking*
for dinner *becomes* dinner. At least, that¡¯s what scientists thought¡¦
until one noticed something weird: orchid mantises don¡¯t actually need any
flowers around for their disguises to work. They attract prey even *better*
than the real thing. To understand why,we have to think – and see – like a
flying insect. That means looking beyond our human senses.
It would be hard for you or I to pluck an orchid mantis from a flowery
background. Our visual system picks up on the shapes, edges and
finer details of the mantis¡¯s disguise. Our brains see petals, and think ¡°flower¡±.
On the other hand, bees, flies – even beetles and butterflies see the floral
fatales completely differently. Pollinator eyes and brains don¡¯t pick up on the
fine details, but the bigger picture comes in loud and clear. To these prey animals,
an orchid mantis doesn¡¯t just look like a flower, it looks bigger and brighter than a
flower – and there lies the trick. Some flowering plants ¡°get it on¡± with anything
willing to stop by, but orchids are exclusive with their pollinators. One type only
attracts male bees from a single species. If an orchid mantis¡¯ disguise was too
particular, it would limit the number of animals it might fool. Instead, by looking a
little like every flower, they can attract even more prey. These animal liars *fool*
our brains too, but orchid mantises didn¡¯t *evolve* to fool human brains. In fact,
the way they deceive us falls into a totally different camouflage category: cryptic
mimicry. Like their close kin, orchid mantises will even rock back and forth like a
flower swaying in the breeze. We don¡¯t know for sure, but scientists think looking
like an orchid could also help conceal them from predators like birds, lizards,
and monkeys in the same way. Pinning down how these predators and parasites
evolved their deadly strategies of disguise has been almost impossible until recently.
And we¡¯re still figuring them out. Some disguises are so good, their true purpose
can be hard to see. Stay curious.
Questions:
1. What Tale did James Hingsley brought to Australia in 1879?
2. What is an orchid mantis? Where is it native from?
3. Explain what mimicry is. How does orchid mantis take advantage to this?