Editing Symbiosis (section)

=== Mimicry ===

{{main|Mimicry}}

Mimicry is a form of symbiosis in which a species adopts distinct characteristics of another species to alter its relationship dynamic with the species being mimicked, to its own advantage. Among the many types of mimicry are Batesian and Müllerian, the first involving one-sided exploitation, the second providing mutual benefit. [[Batesian mimicry]] is an exploitative three-party interaction where one species, the mimic, has evolved to mimic another, the model, to [[deception in animals|deceive]] a third, the dupe. In terms of [[signalling theory]], the mimic and model have evolved to send a signal; the dupe has evolved to receive it from the model. This is to the advantage of the mimic but to the detriment of both the model, whose protective signals are effectively weakened, and of the dupe, which is deprived of an edible prey. For example, a wasp is a strongly defended model, which signals with its conspicuous black and yellow coloration that it is an unprofitable prey to predators such as birds which hunt by sight; many hoverflies are Batesian mimics of wasps, and any bird that avoids these hoverflies is a dupe.<ref name="Vane-Wright-1976">{{cite journal |last1=Vane-Wright |first1=R. I. |year=1976 |title=A unified classification of mimetic resemblances |journal=[[Biological Journal of the Linnean Society]] |volume=8 |pages=25–56 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8312.1976.tb00240.x}}</ref><ref name="Bates-1861">{{cite journal |last1=Bates |first1=Henry Walter |title=XXXII. Contributions to an Insect Fauna of the Amazon Valley. Lepidoptera: Heliconidae. |journal=Transactions of the Linnean Society of London |date=November 1862 |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=495–566 |doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.1860.tb00146.x }}; Reprint: {{cite journal |last1=Bates |first1=Henry Walter |author-link=Henry Walter Bates |year=1981 |title=Contributions to an insect fauna of the Amazon valley (Lepidoptera: Heliconidae) |journal=Biological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=41–54 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8312.1981.tb01842.x |doi-access=free }}</ref> In contrast, [[Müllerian mimicry]] is mutually beneficial as all participants are both models and mimics.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Müller |first1=Fritz |author-link=Fritz Müller |year=1878 |title=Ueber die Vortheile der Mimicry bei Schmetterlingen |journal=Zoologischer Anzeiger |volume=1 |pages=54–55 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Müller |first1=Fritz |author-link=Fritz Müller |year=1879 |title=''Ituna'' and ''Thyridia''; a remarkable case of mimicry in butterflies. (R. Meldola translation) |journal=Proclamations of the Entomological Society of London |volume=1879 |pages=20–29 }}</ref> For example, different species of [[bumblebee]] mimic each other, with similar warning coloration in combinations of black, white, red, and yellow, and all of them benefit from the relationship.<ref name="Mallet-2001">{{cite journal |last=Mallet |first=James |author-link=James Mallet |title=Causes and consequences of a lack of coevolution in Mullerian mimicry |journal=Evolutionary Ecology |date=2001 |volume=13 |issue=7–8 |pages=777–806 |doi=10.1023/a:1011060330515 }}</ref>