Palatable (Batesian) mimics of unprofitable models could use behavioral mimicry to compensate for the ease with which they can be visually discriminated or to augment an already close morphological resemblance. We evaluated these contrasting predictions by assaying the behavior of 57 field-caught species of mimetic hover flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) and quantifying their morphological similarity to a range of potential hymenopteran models. A purpose-built phylogeny for the hover flies was used to control for potential lack of independence due to shared evolutionary history. Those hover fly species that engage in behavioral mimicry (mock stinging, leg waving, wing wagging) were all large wasp mimics within the genera Spilomyia and Temnostoma. While the behavioral mimics assayed were good morphological mimics, not all good mimics were behavioral mimics. Therefore, while the behaviors may have evolved to augment good morphological mimicry, they do not advantage all good mimics.
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Toxins (Basel)
January 2025
Unité des Toxines Bactériennes, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, CNRS UMR 2001 INSERM U1306, 75015 Paris, France.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic immune-mediated neurological disorder, characterized by progressive demyelination and neuronal cell loss in the central nervous system. Many possible causes of MS have been proposed, including genetic factors, environmental triggers, and infectious agents. Recently, epsilon toxin (ETX) has been incriminated in MS, based initially on the isolation of the bacteria from a MS patient, combined with an immunoreactivity to ETX.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnn Bot
January 2025
CEFE, University of Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, CEDEX 5, 34293 Montpellier, France.
Background And Aims: The currently recognized diversity of pollination strategies requires pollination syndromes to be updated. Described a decade ago, kleptomyiophily is a deceptive pollination system in which plants exploit the nutrient-seeking behavior of females of kleptoparasitic flies (Chloropidae and Milichiidae) by olfactorily mimicking their insect host. Such a pollination system was already hypothesized for pollination by biting midges (Ceratopogonidae) but has never been formalized.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Biol Sci
January 2025
Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Batesian mimicry occurs when palatable mimics gain protection from predators by evolving a phenotypic resemblance to an aposematic model species. While common in nature, the mechanisms maintaining mimicry are not fully understood. Patterns of temporal synchrony (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiol Lett
January 2025
Department of Agricultural and Environmental Biology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Butterfly wing patterns exhibit notable differences between the dorsal and ventral surfaces, and morphological analyses of them have provided insights into the ecological and behavioural characteristics of wing patterns. Conventional methods for dorsoventral comparisons are constrained by the need for homologous patches or shared features between two surfaces, limiting their applicability across species. We used a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based analysis, which can compare images of the two surfaces without focusing on homologous patches or features, to detect dorsoventral bias in two types of intraspecific variation: sexual dimorphism and mimetic polymorphism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur Arch Otorhinolaryngol
January 2025
Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, IRCSS AOU San Martino, University of Genoa, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132, Genoa, Italy.
Purpose: Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a complex systemic fibroinflammatory condition with different clinical manifestations affecting multiple organ systems. Despite its rarity, the disease presents diagnostic and therapeutic challenges due to its mimicry of malignancies and other immune-mediated disorders. The 2019 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism Classification Criteria for IgG4-Related Disease is the current state of art to confirm the diagnosis of IgG4-RD even in the absence of histological analysis.
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