TOEFL Speaking Task 3

In biology, the concept of 'mimicry' refers to the resemblance of one organism to another or to an inanimate object, which provides a survival advantage. This adaptation often helps a species avoid predators by either imitating a dangerous species (Batesian mimicry) or by blending into its environment (camouflage). Mimicry can also involve signals, such as resembling a harmful species to deter attack. The key is that the mimic gains protection through deception, while the model (the imitated organism) is typically unrelated or even harmful to predators.

Professor: Let me give you a classic example from the rainforest. The harmless milk snake has bright red, yellow, and black bands, which closely resemble the venomous coral snake. Predators like birds learn to avoid the coral snake after a painful experience, and they transfer that fear to anything with similar colors. So the milk snake, though completely harmless, is rarely attacked. Another example is the walking stick insect, which looks exactly like a twig. When a bird approaches, the insect stays perfectly still, making it almost invisible against a tree branch. In both cases, the organism survives by fooling predators—either through false warning signals or by blending in. But the key is that the mimicry is not accidental; it evolved because those individuals survived longer and reproduced more.