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3D-printed fake wasps help explain bad animal mimicry

2025/7/2

Nature Podcast

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Benjamin Thompson

Christopher Taylor

Dan Fox

Sharmini Bandel

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Sharmini Bandel：动物王国中存在着大量的拟态现象，其中贝茨拟态是一种防御机制，猎物动物进化得像危险或令人厌恶的物种。然而，许多食蚜蝇看起来并不像黄蜂，这引出了一个问题：为什么会存在不完美的拟态？一项研究利用3D打印的食蚜蝇模拟物来研究不完美拟态的难题。 Christopher Taylor：为了研究不完美拟态的原因，我们结合了使用真实昆虫和创造新颖刺激物的优点，创造出既真实又可以操纵的3D打印模拟物。我们制作了一系列模拟物，从100%的苍蝇到100%的黄蜂，中间区域可以用来研究外观的影响。通过训练鸟类区分有奖励和没有奖励的模型，我们发现鸟类会逐渐学会区分哪些模型是有奖励的，哪些是没有奖励的。在实验室环境中，我们利用小鸡测试了不同外观特征对捕食者行为的影响，发现颜色和大小是关键，而形状和图案的影响较小。我们还研究了其他捕食者的反应，发现捕食者种类、栖息地和行动方式会影响拟态的有效性。如果食蚜蝇容易受到鸟类的攻击，那么它就会面临强大的进化压力，需要成为非常精确的模仿者，但如果另一种体型较小、生活在封闭环境中、不太可能被鸟类看到的物种，那么它们可能仍然可以从欺骗蜘蛛的拟态水平中受益，但它们没有达到真正高水平拟态的动力。我们的工作主要集中在视觉方面，但捕食者还有其他感官，模仿者可能需要针对这些感官来欺骗捕食者。拟态研究可以帮助我们了解自然选择需要多长时间才能使物种达到适应的顶峰。

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Chapters

Researchers used 3D-printed hoverfly mimics to study imperfect mimicry. They found that birds were good at distinguishing mimics from wasps, while invertebrates were more easily fooled. This suggests that predator perception influences the accuracy needed for effective mimicry.

3D-printed hoverfly mimics with varying degrees of accuracy were used to study mimicry.
Birds were better at distinguishing mimics from wasps than invertebrates.
Predator perception plays a key role in the accuracy of mimicry.
Imperfect mimicry may be adaptive depending on the predator's visual acuity and environment.

Shownotes Transcript

In this episode:

00:45 Why animals evolve to be imperfect mimics

Many harmless animals mimic dangerous ones to avoid being eaten, but often this fakery is inaccurate. To help explain why evolution sometimes favours imperfect mimicry, a team 3D printed a range of imaginary insects. The novel creatures were designed to mimic wasps with varying degrees of accuracy and the team then presented these models to different predators. They showed that while birds were hard to fool, invertebrate predators were less able to discern between the mimics and accurate wasp models. The results suggest that predator perception plays a key role in the level of accuracy needed to fool them and may help explain the existence of inaccurate mimics in nature.

Research article: Taylor et al.)

News and Views: 3D printing offers a way to study mimicry by insects)

12:53 Research Highlights

Ritual ‘retirement’ rather than family feud may explain broken statues of a female pharaoh, and how kelp ‘loofahs’ made by killer whales might be the first example of toolmaking by a marine mammal.

Research Highlight: The shattered statues of Queen Hatshepsut: the reasons for the wreckage)

Research Highlight: Killer whales exfoliate each other with home-made scrubbers)

15:02 Briefing Chat

The sea slugs that steal chloroplasts to snack on, and the researchers re-enacting a Stone Age sea-voyage.

Nature: ‘Wildest thing’: solar-powered slug steals chloroplasts and stores them for emergencies)

Nature: These scientists re-enacted Stone Age voyage to Japan’s remote islands)

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