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Lookup NU author(s): Dr John Skelhorn
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© The Author(s) 2025.In a classic example of adaptation, harmless Batesian mimics gain protection from predators through resemblance to one or more unpalatable models1,2. Mimics vary greatly in accuracy, and explaining the persistence of inaccurate mimics is an ongoing challenge for evolutionary biologists3,4. Empirical testing of existing hypotheses is constrained by the difficulty of assessing the fitness of phenotypes absent among extant species, leaving large parts of the adaptive landscape unexplored5—a problem affecting the study of the evolution of most complex traits. Here, to address this, we created mimetic phenotypes that occupy hypothetical areas of trait space by morphing between 3D images of real insects (flies and wasps), and tested the responses of real predators to high-resolution, full-colour 3D-printed reproductions of these phenotypes. We found that birds have an excellent ability to learn to discriminate among insects on the basis of subtle differences in appearance, but this ability is weaker for pattern and shape than for colour and size traits. We found that mimics gained no special protection from intermediate resemblance to multiple model phenotypes. However, discrimination ability was lower in some invertebrate predators (especially crab spiders and mantises), highlighting that the predator community is key to explaining the apparent inaccuracy of many mimics.
Author(s): Taylor CH, Watson DJG, Skelhorn J, Bell D, Burdett S, Codyre A, Cooley K, Davies JR, Dawson JJ, D'Cruz T, Gandhi SR, Jackson HJ, Lowe R, Ogilvie E, Pond AL, Rees H, Richardson J, Sains J, Short F, Brignell C, Davidson GL, Rowland HM, East M, Goodridge R, Gilbert F, Reader T
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Nature
Year: 2025
Volume: 644
Pages: 706-713
Print publication date: 21/08/2025
Online publication date: 02/07/2025
Acceptance date: 29/05/2025
Date deposited: 12/02/2026
ISSN (print): 0028-0836
ISSN (electronic): 1476-4687
Publisher: Nature Research
URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09216-3
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09216-3
Data Access Statement: Data have been deposited at the NERC Environmental Information Data Centre and are available online: stimuli: ‘Scanned 3D images and 3D printable images based on combinations of features of Diptera and Hymenoptera collected from the UK in 2021–22’ (https://doi. org/10.5285/05169766-7355-4c3c-8ade-091db0583f9d); wild-bird experiments: ‘Great tit behavioural responses to 3D-printed insect replicas, featuring combinations of traits from wasps and flies, in Madingley Wood, Cambridge, UK, 2021–2023’ (https://doi.org/10.5285/ a1c9b0cc-5585-49c5-a38f-fe05240edccf); trait salience: ‘Chick behavioural responses to 3D-printed insect replicas, featuring combinations of traits from wasps and flies’ (https://doi.org/10.5285/45391184-603e4284-bb3c-9c8c6bf856ab); invertebrate predators: ‘Invertebrate behavioural responses to 3D-printed insect replicas, featuring combinations of traits from wasps and flies, in laboratory trials’ (https:// doi.org/10.5285/ee7ba05a-449b-466e-840c-8de1d3f1d4d1)
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