托福口语 Task 4

Today, I want to talk about a fascinating concept in biology called 'mimicry'—specifically, how some animals use mimicry not just to hide from predators, but to actively hunt their prey. This is known as 'aggressive mimicry.' The key idea is that a predator evolves to resemble something harmless or attractive to its prey, allowing it to get close enough to strike. Let me give you two examples. First, consider the anglerfish. Deep in the ocean, where it's dark, the anglerfish has a glowing lure that dangles in front of its mouth. Smaller fish, attracted to the light, swim toward it thinking it's a tasty snack. But as soon as they get near, the anglerfish snaps them up. Here, the mimicry is visual—the light mimics a food source. Second, think of the bolas spider. Instead of spinning a web, this spider produces a single sticky line with a drop of glue at the end. It also releases a chemical that mimics the sex pheromone of a female moth. Male moths, drawn by the scent, fly toward the spider, and the spider swings its line to catch the moth. So in both cases, the predator uses mimicry to lure prey, but one uses light, the other uses smell.