托福口语 Task 4

Today, we're going to talk about a fascinating concept in biology called 'mimicry'. Mimicry is when one species evolves to resemble another species, often to gain a survival advantage. There are two main types: Batesian mimicry and Müllerian mimicry. Let me explain with examples. First, consider the harmless king snake. It has evolved to look very similar to the venomous coral snake. Predators, having learned to avoid the coral snake, also avoid the king snake, even though it is not dangerous. This is Batesian mimicry, where a harmless species copies a dangerous one. On the other hand, take the monarch butterfly and the viceroy butterfly. Both are distasteful to birds. They resemble each other, so predators learn quickly to avoid both. This is Müllerian mimicry, where two unpalatable species share a warning signal, benefiting both. So, the key point is that mimicry can work in different ways depending on the level of danger or distastefulness of the species involved.