What is a mimic?
Often several butterfly species share a very similar wing pattern. We call different species with similar wing patterns mimics. Sometimes an edible butterfly has the same wing pattern as a foul tasting or toxic butterfly. This type of mimicry is called Batesian Mimicry. Sometimes two or more toxic species have similar wing patterns, this type of mimicry is called Mullerian Mimicry. Since predators learn to stay away from certain warning colors and patterns butterfly mimics are less likely to be eaten.
