Müllerian mimicry

noun

variants or Mullerian mimicry or less commonly Muellerian mimicry

: mimicry that exists between two or more inedible or dangerous species (as of butterflies or wasps and bees) and that is considered in evolutionary theory to be a mechanism which reduces loss to predation by simplifying the warning colors and patterns a predator must recognize

Mullerian mimicry differs from Batesian mimicry in that all the species in the complex are unpalatable, they cannot be distinguished by predators, and they must be found in the same place at the same time.

—Arthur V. Evans and Charles L. Bellamy, An Inordinate Fondness of Beetles, 2000

Word History

Etymology

müllerian from Fritz Müller + English -an

First Known Use

1899, in the meaning defined above

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