Bats mimic hornets when owls are nearby
It is their way of spooking predators
IN THE ANIMAL kingdom, mimics are a dime a dozen. Stick insects pretend to be twigs. Hawk-moth caterpillars resemble venomous snakes. Edible heliconid butterflies disguise themselves with the wing patterns of noxious ones, and noxious ones copy each other to make it easier for predators to learn what not to eat.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Buzz off!”
From the May 14th 2022 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Science & technology
Does melatonin work for jet lag?
It can help. But it depends where you’re going
Training AI models might not need enormous data centres
Eventually, models could be trained without any dedicated hardware at all
How the Gulf’s rulers want to harness the power of science
A stronger R&D base, they hope, will transform their countries’ economies. Will their plan work?
Cancer vaccines are showing promise at last
Trials are under way against skin, brain and lung tumours
New firefighting tech is being trialled in Sardinia’s ancient forests
It could sniff out blazes long before they spread out of control
Can Jeff Bezos match Elon Musk in space?
After 25 years, Blue Origin finally heads to orbit, and hopes to become a contender in the private space race