Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
Over five years ago I wrote about a remarkable adaptation in insects: mimicry of snakes. Remember that “holometabolous” insects go through very different life stages, and this includes Lepidoptera, which have larvae that become pupae (also known as “chrysalises”), and out of those pupae hatch the winged adults. The larvae (“caterpillars”) are often highly edible to birds and other predators, and have to evolve various strategies to avoid being eaten. Snake mimicry is one such strategy.
In 2020 I described one example of a caterpillar mimicking a snake. When the caterpillar is disturbed, it displays a remarkably snakelike underside and rears its head like a venomous snake. This is the Snake-mimic caterpillar, Hemeroplanes triptolemus, a moth from the Amazon rainforest found in Puyo, Ecuador. The video was taken by the late Andreas Kay, who rediscovered my frog Atelopus coynei. (Kay’s photos are now curated by reader Lou Jost.) I’ve put Kay’s video below again—it’s the second one in this post.
But pupae, being immobile (well, as you’ll see, they can sometimes move a little), have a bigger problem, for they don’t have much behavior to deter predators. In another post from 2015 I described and showed some photos of a pupa that, like the caterpillar above, also resembles a snake. (It’s a different species from the one above; the pupal mimic becomes a butterfly while the larval mimic turns into a moth.) I also noted that the pupa could actually move a bit, and it’s likely that even a little motion might deter a predator. But at that time I had no video to show.
Recently I found that in fact Kay did take some video of the snake-mimic pupa and had put it up in 2018. Ergo, just below, in the top video, you can see a pupa that resembles a snake. The resemblance of both moth and butterfly mimics is so close to that of a snake, both morphologically and behaviorally, that it’s hard to think of any explanation other than Batesian mimicry.
First, here are Andreas’s YouTube notes:
This chrysalis or pupa of the Daring Owl-Butterfly, Dynastor darius, was filmed in the Jardin Eco-botanico Mindo, Ecuador. It mimics the head of a snake which gives it an advantage in the struggle for survival by scaring off predators such as birds. It has fake eyes, a fake mouth, fake scales and even strikes like a snake if disturbed, as shown in this video.
And look at it move! How does the immobile and developing butterfly adult know that something’s threatening it? It appears to have a sense of touch.
And here again is the moth larva mimicking a snake; a video I showed before. You might want to ponder the incipient stages of this adaptation—what were the first snake-resembling features to evolve?
Reader Simon sent me a link to this free paper about coronavirus vaccines written by several researchers, including Anthony Fauci (“senior author” means “last author”, and the convention that this spot is occupied by the Boss or lab head). It’s a useful summary of where we are, which other vaccines are coming, and what we don’t know, and is understandable by the layperson. (Here’s a link to one term you might not know: “mucosal immunity“, while “parenterally” refers to medicines taken outside the digestive tract, usually through injection.)
Click on the screenshot to read:
There’s a useful table of vaccines already used compared to those in development. Of the five remaining vaccines, three involve viruses: mostly inactivated viruses that can’t replicate but can produce the spike protein that activates your antibodies, while two others involve injecting spike proteins themselves, made in insect cells. Click to enlarge:
Here’s a figure I’ve posted before showing the protection you get from the two vaccines in use in America now: the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna formulations.
Note that you’ve already gotten substantial protection before you get to the second jab. For both vaccines the efficacy (the reduction in the chance you’ll catch the virus if exposed) is about 95%.
The paper raises several concerns about the vaccines and people’s willingness to take them.
A.) What are the side effects? Monitoring of those injected has only taken place for several months, and there may be long-term effects we don’t know about. The authors note, though, that some of the vaccinated would have had stuff like cancer and heart attacks anyway—effects having nothing to do with the injection. The frequencies of such incidents and diseases need to be compared to those in unvaccinated groups or base rates already known.
B.) We don’t know the efficacy in some important groups, including “children, pregnant women, individuals with underlying illnesses, and those taking medications that might influence the immune response to a disease.”
C.) The duration of protection provided by the vaccines. We know that the efficacy of flu vaccines wanes substantially between six months and a year after injection. Will we have to get yearly injections of coronavirus vaccines as we do with flu shots? Of course they will continue developing vaccines, so they will get better over time.
D.) How well do the vaccines protect against (asymptomatic) infection and transmission of the virus? We should have the answer to this question in a while, and the authors consider this the most important unknown in trying to stem the pandemic. If after injection you can get infected and not show symptoms, as well as transmit the virus, this will dramatically curtail efforts to stop the pandemic cold, and mandate different strategies, like testing those already injected.
And a paragraph from the paper, which is disturbing given that roughly half of Americans plan to get vaccinated. That is INSANE! Tell your worried friends to get their jabs, as it’s better than getting coronavirus.
The point made is that the vaccines currently in use don’t provide immunity in the mucosal membranes (as in the nose), while polio vaccine did bestow that immunity, but only if made with live weakened virus. (Current flu vaccines don’t provide it either.) Active immunity in the mucosa kills the virus in the respiratory system before it has a chance to get into the blood. The coronavirus vaccines now available don’t seem to provide mucosal immunity and, as the authors say, we need vaccines that will do that. A summary:
Given that recent polling suggests that only 40% to 60% of people in the United States are currently planning to get vaccinated, it is conceivable that without some impact on transmission, the virus will continue to circulate, infect, and cause serious disease in certain segments of the unvaccinated population. Administration of parenterally administered vaccines alone typically does not result in potent mucosal immunity that might interrupt infection or transmission. In the case of poliovirus, induction of mucosal immunity through vaccination with the live attenuated oral polio vaccine, in contrast to the parenterally administered inactivated vaccine, was thought to have played a critical role in interruption of transmission and control of poliovirus epidemics. For these reasons, additional data regarding protection from infection should be generated as soon as possible. If these vaccines do not provide durable, high levels of protection from infection, and do not drive the prevalence of virus in the community to near zero, a thorough analysis of shedding and transmission will need to be done through additional study. Armed with such data, public health officials can make decisions regarding prioritization of populations to receive the vaccine, and researchers could potentially improve upon the first wave of vaccines.
I’m watching the Inauguration at the link I provided, and so far it’s surprisingly moving. Joe and Kamala are looking good, and all the living former Presidents are there—save Carter, who’s way old, and the petulant Tr*mp. But Bill Clinton isn’t wearing his mask right! It’s below his schnoz! What kind of example is he setting?
The Obamas!
The future Vice President and the Second Man. She’s wearing my favorite color, purple, in both coat and dress.
Today’s Jesus and Mo strip, called “idiots,” came with the email note, “Let’s hope QAnon don’t give J&M any ideas.” The strip is the common case of the Divine Duo denigrating others and not seeing that they’re like the others.
It’s too late, though, as history already tells us that Mo was a pedophile.
Tony Eales from Queensland weighs in with photos documenting a nice story of parasitism and mimicry, with the mimicry being an orchid that deceives a male wasp into trying to copulate with it. (The gain is pollination for the flower; the wasp gets nothing but frustration.)
Tony’s descriptions are indented; click on the photos to enlarge them.
I came across something quite special on the weekend. It’s a terrestrial orchid Arthrochilus prolixus, AKA Wispy Elbow Orchid.
This orchid by sight and smell imitates a wingless female Thynnid wasp. Female Thynnids often sit at the top of a blade of grass waiting for a male to find them. It is this behaviour the orchid takes advantage of.
JAC: Note how the orchid above imitates a waiting female. The male mates with the orchid, getting pollen on its back, and then, because wasps aren’t that smart, eventually tries to mate with a different orchid, whereupon the pollen from the first orchid detaches and pollinates the second one. (Note the stamens in the orchid at lower right above.) This is known as pollination by “pseudocopulation.”
Thynnid males pick up females and carry them around while mating for many hours.
Thynnids are parasitoids of scarab beetle larvae. Scarabs live under ground or within litter for a year or more, feeding and growing. As larvae they are often known as Curl Grubs (and I realise I don’t have any photos of curl grubs which is strange, only adults). [JAC: see a photo here.]
The females deposit a single egg on any scarab larvae they find which grows and eats the larvae until emerging as an adult wasp and digging out.
Here’s a photo of a male I observed busily pulling back leaves off the ground as a newly emerged female was making her way out.
There are around 2000 species of Thynnid in Australia of which only about a quarter have been described and named. As far as I can tell no-one yet knows the species that pollinates the orchid that I found.
And here is a paper describing how a different species of elbow orchid tricks the wasps into getting a wad of pollen attached to the right spot on their back with great pictures.
Joe Biden’s Inaugural Committee is hosting this live video of the festivities, which begin in about 30 minutes: at 9 am Eastern Time. I’m not sure what’s on tap except for the swearing in of Biden and Harris, but check it out from time to time. You’ll get to
Other events and livestreams can be found here and here. The swearing-in ceremony is set to begin at around 11 a.m. Eastern Time, but I’d tune in about 10:30 just to be sure, as I’ve seen conflicting times.
The New York Times gives this schedule:
The inauguration will begin around 11 a.m. Eastern. Mr. Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will take the oath of office just before noon on the West Front of the Capitol, where Mr. Biden will also deliver an address to the nation for the first time as president.
Lady Gaga will sing the national anthem at the swearing-in, and Jennifer Lopez and Garth Brooks are also set to perform.
Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris, along with their spouses, Jill Biden and Douglas Emhoff, will then conduct a review of the military and visit Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. They will be joined by three former presidents and their wives: Barack and Michelle Obama, George W. and Laura Bush, and Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Finally, Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris will head to the White House. Instead of a parade along Pennsylvania Avenue, a virtual procession will showcase performers and speakers from across the country.
It’s Inauguration Day!!!!! The nightmare of the last four years appears to be over and, through his actions surrounding the Capitol takeover, Trump has probably shattered whatever political career he envisioned after his Presidency. (Believe me, he won’t want to go back to reality shows and real estate deals.) Good news all around! Even Mitch “666” McConnell is making noises that may help convict Trump during his second impeachment trial in the Senate (a conviction would of course help separate Trump from the GOP, which many Republicans want).
A couple of tweets and memes to celebrate. Sadly, the first one is marred by the misspelled “Lonney Tunes”.
It’s a good day, this Wednesday, January 20, 2021, as the heinous incumbent will be ejected from the Presidency at noon. He’s off to Florida, skipping the Inauguration: the first ex-President to do that in a century. ABC News describes the petulant little baby:
Trump, who remains consumed with anger and grievance over his election loss, refused and has not been seen in public since last week, when he traveled to Texas for one last photo opportunity at the border wall he pushed so adamantly throughout his presidency. In the end, he spent less than 45 minutes on the ground there and spoke just 21 minutes.
Trump has also refused to take part in any of the symbolic passing-of-the-torch traditions that have been the capstones of the peaceful transition of power from one administration to the next. He is boycotting not just the ceremony at the Capitol, but also passed on inviting the Bidens to the White House for a get-to-know-you meeting. And it remains unclear whether he will write Biden a personal welcome letter, like the one he received from former President Obama when he moved in.
It’s National Cheese Lover’s Day, and once again a misplaces apostrophe implies that only one person on Earth loves cheese, and it’s their holiday.
Trump’s pardons have now been issued and there are 143 in the last batch, with 73 full pardons and 70 commuted sentences. The list includes Steve Bannon, a couple of Trump’s other cronies, some convicted Republican congressmen, and, to Trump’s credit, a number of people convicted and serving time for nonviolent drug crimes, especially involving marijuana. The release of the list was reportedly delayed by a long debate over Bannon. You can see the full list here.
I’m sure we have a winner in our “Who will get pardons?” contest, but it will take me some time to find the victor. If you remember your choices, it would help for readers who entered to match your choices with the pardon list and let me know if you were the first to get them all right. A prize will be forthcoming.
On Saturday, a team of Nepalese climbers accomplished a first: reaching the summit of K2, the world’s second highest mountain (28,251 ft.), in the winter. And crikey, ten of them made it to the top, having a veritable house party on the summit. No winter ascent was successful until this one.
(From the NYT): From top left: Dawa Tenji Sherpa, Mingma G, Dawa Temba Sherpa and Pem Chiri Sherpa. From bottom left: Mingma David Sherpa, Mingma Tenzi Sherpa, Nirmal Purja and Gelje Sherpa. (Not pictured: Kilu Pemba Sherpa and Sona Sherpa.) Pool photo by Nimsdai
Finally, today’s reported Covid-19 death toll in the U.S. is 401,823, an increase of about 2,800 deaths from yesterday’s figure. Our death toll has now exceeded 400,000, and in two days will surpass the total number of Americans killed—combatants or others—in World War II, (405,399). It took four years of war to reach that figure, but less than a year of Covid-19. The world death toll is 2,067,591, a big increase of about 16,200 deaths over yesterday’s total, or about one death every five seconds.
Stuff that happened on January 20 includes:
1265 – The first English parliament to include not only Lords but also representatives of the major towns holds its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster, now commonly known as the “Houses of Parliament”.
1783 – The Kingdom of Great Britain signed preliminary articles of peace with France, setting the stage to the official end of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War later that year.
1788 – The third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay. Arthur Phillip decides that Port Jackson is a more suitable location for a colony.
1841 – Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British.
1887 – The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
1929 – The first full-length talking motion picture filmed outdoors, In Old Arizona, is released.
Here’s the whole movie if you want to have a look:
1936 – King George V of the United Kingdom dies. His eldest son succeeds to the throne, becoming Edward VIII. The title Prince of Wales is not used for another 22 years.
Edward VIII of course abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson; his reign lasted a bit less than a year. Here’s the instrument of abdication:
1937 – Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Nance Garner are sworn in for their second terms as U.S. President and U.S. Vice President; it is the first time a Presidential Inauguration takes place on January 20 since the 20th Amendment changed the dates of presidential terms.
1961 – John F. Kennedy is inaugurated the 35th President of the United States of America, becoming the second youngest man to take the office, and the first Catholic.
1981 – Twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as the 40th President of the United States of America, Iran releases 52 American hostages.
Here’s Mulligan with his Quartet playing “Open Country”:
2018 – Paul Bocuse, French chef (b. 1926)
Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili was left out in the cold for too long, and wasn’t noticed on the windowsill:
Hili: This is a lack of responsibility!
A: What do you mean?
Hili: For an hour now I’ve been banging on the window!
A: You went out ten minutes ago.
Hili: Exactly, and all this time I’ve been waiting for you to let me in.
In Polish:
Hili: To jest brak odpowiedzialności!
Ja: O co ci chodzi?
Hili: Od godziny dobijam się do okna!
Ja: Wyszłaś dziesięć minut temu.
Hili: No właśnie i cały czas czekam, żebyś mnie wpuścił.
Little Kulka, who loves to run, climb the trees, and play, is enjoying the recent snowfall.
Caption: And Kulka is enjoying herself. (Photo: Paulina)
In Polish: Kulka się cieszy. (Foto: Paulina.)
From reader Pliny the in Between’s TheFar Corner Cafe, a dig at HuffPost (how could I resist?)
From Stephen:
A meme from Bruce:
From Titania, but sent by Simon. The big question here, whose answer I can’t find, is whether Winter was put in a women’s prison or a men’s. Winter still has male plumbing, and, given his rape conviction, would seem to be a real danger to the other inmates if put in a women’s prison.
Given that women are woefully underrepresented in the prison population, a male criminal choosing to identify as female can only be a good thing.https://t.co/AxgFYXKVro
From Jez. I find this astonishing! It’s almost a Tweet of the Year. Be sure to play the video.
This bloke spent £300 on vets fees and X-rays and it turned out nothing was wrong with the dog, was just copying him out of sympathy 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/CJ8pPqxJqH
I told Matthew to get one of these for his three cats Ollie, Pepper, and Harry, and he says there have been familial discussions about that on and off:
