Mimicry - Blog Posts

Abbott's Sphinx Moth: this caterpillar has a false eye on its rump; it mimics the features of a vertebrate's eye, and even includes a white reflection spot

The formal name for this species is Sphecodina abbottii.

From Minnesota Seasons:

The caterpillar is up to 3″ (7.5 cm) long. Middle stage (instar) caterpillars are whitish to bluish-green. In place of the horn found on other sphinx caterpillars, there is a raised orange knob on the eighth abdominal segment (A8). Final instar caterpillars come in two color forms. The brown color form has longitudinal streaks of light and dark brown mimicking the color of a woody vine. The green form has on each abdominal segment a large, pale green, saddle-shaped spot on the upper side and a similar smaller spot on each side. The pattern is said to mimic a bunch of unripe grapes. Both forms have a black, raised, eye-like knob on A8 complete with a small white spot mimicking reflected light.

When the caterpillar is pinched or poked, it often squeaks and bites at the attacker.

The fully-developed moth also has a unique appearance -- it has an ash-grey/blue coloration with streaks of pink and black.

Sources & More Info:

Encyclopedia of Life: Sphecodina abbottii

Insect Identification: Abbott's Sphinx Moth

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: Saukeville Field Station

Minnesota Seasons: Abbott's Sphinx Moth

University of Minnesota Garden Extension: Abbott's Sphinx

Vida's Sheep Jumping Spider: researchers believe that these tiny spiders developed their "woolly" appearance as a way to mimic lacewing larvae or scale insects

The scientific name for this species is Oviballus vidae, but it has also been referred to as the "sheepy jumping spider" or "Vida's jumping spider." It was discovered in 2015, and first described (in a formal context) back in 2020.

As this article (PDF) describes:

Recently, two new salticids, R. legitima and Oviballus vidae were described from South Africa, and suggested to be mimics of either scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) or lacewing larvae (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae), due to their white colouration and the presence of peculiar tufts of white setae on the body.

The possibility of [scale insects] being the model is supported by Oviballus vidae being regularly collected from plants with woolly scales, although the movements of O. vidae quite closely resemble those of chrysopid larvae.

In fact, a fourth species of possible scale mimic, a new Rhene species, was recently discovered in a collection of salticids from southern Mozambique, indicating that this phenomenon may be more widespread than has previously been known or even suspected.

O. vidae was named after Vida van der Walt, the photographer who captured some of the first images of these spiders back in 2015, just after the species was discovered by Dr. Galina Azarkina. Vida van der Walt also took the photographs that appear in this post.

Sources & More Info:

Arthropoda Selecta (scientific journal): Rediscovery and Redescription of Rhene cooperi, another possible mimic of scale insects (PDF)

Spider Club of South Africa: Two New Species Named After SA Photographer (PDF, with the relevant info on page 5)

Field Guide to the Spiders of South Africa: Section on Vida's Sheep Jumping Spider