托福口语 Task 4

Today, I want to talk about a fascinating concept in biology called 'mimicry'. Specifically, I'll focus on how certain harmless species have evolved to imitate dangerous or unpalatable ones, which provides them with protection from predators. This is known as Batesian mimicry. Let me give you two examples to illustrate this. First, consider the scarlet king snake. It has bright red, yellow, and black bands that closely resemble the venomous coral snake. Predators, like birds, learn to avoid the coral snake's colors, and they also avoid the king snake, even though it's harmless. Second, think about the hoverfly. This insect has black and yellow stripes similar to those of a wasp. Although the hoverfly has no stinger, its appearance tricks predators like frogs and lizards into thinking it can sting, so they leave it alone. In both cases, the mimic gains a survival advantage by looking like a species that predators already fear.