Moth That Looks Like A Bee

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In nature, all manner of special tricks are employed by different species to gain advantages. Looking like a bee or a wasp can be useful as other animals have learned that bees and wasps hurt them.

In nature, many examples exist where one species mimics another for benefit. If we take the example of bees and wasps, many tend to look similar with yellow and black stripey appearances.

Evolutionary Mimicry In Nature

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The bee mimic Synanthedon bibionipennis is found in western North America. If we look at the natural insect populations of North America, honeybees are a recent introduction. 

The Strawberry Crown Moth

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The Genus Hemarus – The Clearwing Moths

These moths in the genus Hemaris are known collectively as clearwing moths or hummingbird ...

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Bumblebee Moths

In North America, bumblebees are a natural species and can sting. Many indigenous species of moth have evolved to mimic bumblebees and are loosely called the Bumblebee moths.

The first time I saw one of these I was blown away by how crazy it looked. I saw a big black moth with a skull on its back fly up to one of my hives. Normally bees hate any moths and will tear them to pieces.

The Deathshead Moth

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ADVICE

This is known as Batesian mimicry. There are many moths that mimic bees – this allows the moths a number of advantages. In many cases, it allows them to fly during the day.

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