Thai Sikh International School
E-Learning Programme – Online
Assignment – dd/mm/yyyy
Name
: Subject : English
Year : 11
A/B Schedule
No. : 1 |
Summarize
how camouflaging and
mimicry help insects
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Have you ever
wondered why soldiers are always clad in green? This is to enable them
to camouflage themselves
during wartime. Hiding in the jungles, their green attire blend into the
surrounding trees and shrubs, making it difficult for the enemies to spot
them.
Long before
man make use of camouflaging, insects have already adopted the tactic of
disguise to escape from the clutches of their predators. By having body
colors close to those of the rocks and dried leaves, they catch less
attention from the predators and hence escape from being pursued. However,
this kind of disguise works only if the insects remain still in the presence
of their predators.
Butterflies
and moths have developed a variety of camouflage strategies since they are
quite defenceless and their predators - birds are abundant in supply. Many
moth caterpillars resemble dead twigs while the young of certain species of
butterflies appear like bird droppings. Adult butterflies and moths
camouflage themselves too, in attempts to escape from their hunters -- birds
who are superior gliders. Possessing wings which resemble dried leaves help
certain butterflies and moths to hide among heaps of dried leaves when
predators are around.
Fortunately,
not all insects choose the art of disguise to escape from their predators;
otherwise, the world would be so dull and colorless. There are insects whichassimilate the bright body colors of bees
and wasps to escape from being pursued by their predators. The concept of
mimicry was derived, owing to the bees and wasps. Long ago, birds have
already learnt to avoid brilliantly colored wasps and bees in fear of their
painful stings. Hence, over millions of years, many harmless insects have
assimilated the bees and wasps by imitating their bright body colors and
shapes. In this way, they appear dangerous to their predators and hence ward them off.
Mimics of the
wasps and bees are most commonly found in the gardens. The furry, plump
bee-fly not only appears like the bumble bee in terms of body colors, even
its hums sound similar too. The only difference is that the bee-fly does not
have a sting and is hence harmless. The hoverfly is another insect which
imitates the body colors of the wasps. Their bodies are striped yellow and
black. The only deviations are that hoverflies do not have stings and they
have only one pair of wings each while wasps have two pairs each. These
variations are hardly noticed by the predators and hence help them to escape.
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