托福口语 Task 4

Today, we're going to talk about a fascinating concept in biology called 'mimicry.' Specifically, I want to focus on a type called 'Batesian mimicry,' where a harmless species evolves to look like a harmful or toxic species to avoid predators. The main point is that this adaptation increases the harmless species' chances of survival. Let me give you two examples. First, consider the scarlet king snake. It has bright red, yellow, and black bands, very similar to the venomous coral snake. Predators, like birds, learn to avoid the coral snake's colors, so they also avoid the king snake. Second, there's the hoverfly. It has black and yellow stripes like a wasp, but it cannot sting. Birds that have had a bad experience with wasps will steer clear of hoverflies. In both cases, the harmless species benefits because predators mistake them for dangerous ones, which significantly reduces their risk of being eaten.