These Bats Buzz Like Hornets And Wasps To Escape Owls

Shariqua Ahmed
Mon, 22 Aug 2022 11:32:28 -0700

Batesian mimicry — where a harmless species mimics a harmful one to escape predators — is widespread in animals. But most recorded examples of the phenomena are visual. For instance, the harmless scarlet kingsnakes have evolved to resemble a venomous species, while the flower-loving hoverflies have adopted the persona of stinging wasps. Now, for the first time, researchers have uncovered a mammal that has developed acoustic Batesian mimicry to scare away predators.