INSTANCES OF CAMOUFLAGE (MIMICRY) OBSERVED ON THE FERGUSSON COLLEGE HILL

Abstract

Mimicry is basically a similarity of one organism to another which protects one through its effect on the behavior of the operator (third party). This similarity can be in appearance, behaviour, sound, scent or location. It is however important to note that the mimics are found in the same area as their models. In most cases, mimicry is advantageous to the mimic and harmful to the receiver. It may have beneficial, detrimental or no effect on the fitness of the model too. This project was aimed to observe and record various instances of mimicry in the area encompassed by the Fergusson College campus. Most of the visits were made in the morning hours, from 07:30 hours to 11: 00 hours and few were made in the evening hours, from 18:30 hours to 19:30 hours. For identification various identification keys were used, such as: Introduction to the Identification of Insects and Related Arthropods (P.M. Choate, 2003), Key to Insect Orders (Colorado State University) and the field guide Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (Grimmett, Inskipp, Inskipp). It was inferred that order Orthoptera that of the Grasshoppers was the most abundant order. The least observed individuals were Plant Hoppers and Spotted Owlets belonging to the orders Hemiptera and Strigiformes, this could possibly be due to the greater degree of camouflage that they exhibit. The number of individuals may vary according to the season and time of visits. We carried out the survey in the months of December and January.