Talk:Mimic
From Academic Kids
I'm not sure the "startle defense" discussion belongs here - mimicry is significant because it makes the survival of one species contingent on the success of another. If the organism being mimicked should vanish, the mimic will be forced to undergo further adaptation. Or, for example, if the current honeybee plague in the northeast United States continues and they are all wiped out, there would no longer be any significant advantage to bumblebees (should they prove to be the only surviving species) maintaining a particular coat color or pattern and it might change to something more suitable. In the case of "startle defense" this is not true; the moth shown, for example, will ALWAYS be able to use the startle defense. It is not contingent on another organism. Graft 17:02, 15 Jul 2004 (UTC)
