托福口语 Task 4

Today, we're going to talk about a fascinating behavioral adaptation in animals called 'mimicry.' Mimicry occurs when one species evolves to resemble another species, often to gain a survival advantage. There are two main types of mimicry: Batesian and Müllerian. Let me give you an example of each. First, consider the harmless king snake, which mimics the venomous coral snake. The king snake has similar red, yellow, and black banding, so predators that have learned to avoid the coral snake also avoid the king snake. This is Batesian mimicry, where a harmless species imitates a dangerous one. Now, for Müllerian mimicry, think about two species of stinging wasps, the yellowjacket and the paper wasp. Both are actually dangerous and have similar warning colors of yellow and black. By looking alike, they reinforce the lesson for predators: 'If you see these colors, you'll get stung.' This shared warning reduces the number of attacks on both species, because predators learn faster when they encounter multiple similar-looking stinging insects.