Identification
automimicry - type of
mimicry where one part of an animal resembles another part, and this adaptation is believed to help protect it from predation. Examples include the antenna-mimicking tails of many Hairstreak butterflies and relatives (
Lycaenidae ), and in some moths. Small eyespots, which may divert a predatory attack away from vital areas, might also be considered automimicry.
Examples of automimicry:
Sometimes the presence of large eyespots (resembling those of a predator) is considered a form of automimicry, though it might also be classified as
Batesian mimicry:
Automimicry may also refer to mimicry within a species. In this case, certain individuals in a population are defended by noxious chemicals (or stingers, etc.) and non-protected individuals in the same population gain protection from predation via their resemblance to the protected individuals. Examples:
In the
Monarch Butterfly, for example, the concentration of noxious chemicals varies widely among individuals, but the less-defended individuals are protected by the experience of predators (birds) with the noxious ones
(1).
Male
hymenoptera (bees and wasps) are never armed with a stinger, but resemble females, which are often armed, thus receiving protection. Some males even have false stingers (without venom) and make jabbing motions with the abdomen when threatened
(2).
