[RD (OP)]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemeroplanes_triptolemus

[RD (OP)]

The above should grow up into this moth ...



But it's the same tactic by a different species ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attacus_atlas

[Karen W.]

Is that a two-headed snake? Yikes! I do not like snakes...

[Karen W.]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemeroplanes_triptolemus

I cannot even imagine a catapillar that can mimic a snake like that! it even says it can harmlessly strike at a predator in defence but without actual injury as its mimicking the snake..  That is an amazing transformable... how long have these been around..?

[RD (OP)]

Is that a two-headed snake? ...

It's this moth impersonating snakes ...


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attacus_atlas

I do not like snakes...

That's the point: nobody likes snakes, the impersonation scares away predators who would eat the moth / caterpillar.

That is an amazing transformable... how long have these been around..?

Moths & their caterpillars have existed for ~200 million years, but snake-mimics can't pre-date snakes, which have only been around for ~100 million years.

[chris]

What amazing pictures.

[RD (OP)]

Another example of the atlas moth , the 3-D illusion is better on this one than the above ...

[RD (OP)]

How long would copying take ?.
A million generations of random mutations is sufficient to create a recognizable Mona Lisa ...

[evan_au]

The one that doesn't get attacked because it looks a little like a snake lives to breed another day, enriching the population with others that also look a little like a snake. (then repeat millions of times...)

But Julian Huxley/Carl Sagan's claim that crabs could evolve Samurai faces in the time since Japan was settled by humans has been questioned....
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heikegani

[RD (OP)]

... But Julian Huxley/Carl Sagan's claim that crabs could evolve Samurai faces in the time since Japan was settled by humans has been questioned....

Very little detail is required for people to interpret a pattern as a face  ;¬)


https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=18086.msg385101#msg385101

[jeffreyH]

The problem is one of interpretation. Nature produces patterns that are fractal in nature. We could say that if one tree leaf looked like one that was poisonous to an animal it would avoid it. However this is an over simplification. Since smell is also involved in food selection. It would be a huge coincidence if both trees had exactly the same smell. In the case of snakes the motion is as important as the appearance. Snakes tend to not want to be noticed until within striking distance. To look like a snake might not be enough since you don't look exactly like any particular snake. To be able to recognise a particular enemy is the key to survival.

[RD (OP)]

.... Since smell is also involved in food selection. It would be a huge coincidence if both trees had exactly the same smell ...

Here's coexisting visual & odor mimicry ...

[ Bee-orchids also do the double : they look & smell like female bees ]

[Kryptid]

The problem is one of interpretation. Nature produces patterns that are fractal in nature. We could say that if one tree leaf looked like one that was poisonous to an animal it would avoid it. However this is an over simplification. Since smell is also involved in food selection. It would be a huge coincidence if both trees had exactly the same smell. In the case of snakes the motion is as important as the appearance. Snakes tend to not want to be noticed until within striking distance. To look like a snake might not be enough since you don't look exactly like any particular snake. To be able to recognise a particular enemy is the key to survival.

Even if the degree of mimicry is only enough to give a predator pause, that one second of hesitation could be enough to allow the prey item to escape.