May 2015: Marie Herbenstein, deception and disguise of orchid mantis and owl butterflies with @jamohanlon @JohannaMappes and @SebaDeBona

This month I’m joined by special guest James O’Hanlon from the Australian museum in Sydney for a deception and disguise special. James tells me about his PhD research on mantids that trick bees by mimicking flowers - or do they?! And we discuss a new paper showing that butterfly eyepsots might really be mimicking the eyes of a predator’s own predator. In the Scientific spark I talk to Marie Herbenstein, from Macquarie University in Sydney, who tells me that things might have not gone the way they have if she’d chosen a different research project!

Download the MP3

Quicklinks:

James O'Hanlon's webpage

Predator mimicry, not conspicuousness, explains the efficacy of butterfly eyespots

Marie Herbenstein's webpage