托福口语 Task 4

Today, we're going to discuss a fascinating concept in biology called 'mimicry'. Mimicry occurs when one species evolves to resemble another, often to gain a survival advantage. The key idea is that mimicry can be either protective or aggressive. Let me give you two examples. First, the monarch butterfly is toxic to birds because it eats milkweed. The viceroy butterfly, which is not toxic, has evolved to look almost identical to the monarch. Birds that have learned to avoid the monarch also avoid the viceroy, giving the viceroy protection from predators. This is a classic case of protective mimicry. Second, consider the anglerfish. It has a fleshy growth on its head that looks like a small worm. When smaller fish come to eat what they think is a worm, the anglerfish snaps them up. Here, the mimicry helps the anglerfish attract prey, which is aggressive mimicry. So, in both cases, mimicry provides a clear survival benefit, but the purpose differs: one is to avoid being eaten, and the other is to catch food.