托福口语 Task 4

Today, we're going to talk about a fascinating concept in biology called 'mimicry'—specifically, how some animals evolve to resemble other species for survival. There are two main types: Batesian mimicry and Müllerian mimicry. Let me give you two examples. First, consider the harmless king snake. It has evolved to look like the venomous coral snake, with similar red, yellow, and black bands. Predators that have learned to avoid the coral snake also avoid the king snake, even though the king snake is not dangerous. This is Batesian mimicry, where a harmless species imitates a harmful one to fool predators. Second, take the case of two species of stinging wasps—the yellow jacket and the bald-faced hornet. Both are actually dangerous and can sting. Over time, they have evolved to look quite similar with bold black-and-white or black-and-yellow patterns. This similarity benefits both species because predators learn to avoid the pattern faster when they encounter either species. This is Müllerian mimicry, where two or more harmful species share a similar appearance to reinforce the warning signal to predators. So, the key point is that mimicry can evolve either to deceive predators or to cooperate in warning them.