Odor mimicry

[bludyard]

I got to thinking to today and started wondering if their were animals or plants that changed how they smelled so as to blend in with their surroundings or to mimic another organism. Like how some creatures mimic visually to camoflage themselves or scare away predators like cuttlefish, or the creatures that mimic the sounds other creatures make, like some birds do. Do these behaviors exist in the wild in olfactory form? Thanks in advance.

 

[DaveC426913]

Yes.
Ants are much more attuned to chemistry than they are to imagery.

There is a type of spider that mimics the ants upon whose eggs it preys, so as to avoid being attacked. Its mimicry is visual as well as hormonal (i.e. olfactory).

 

[Write4U]

Yes.
Ants are much more attuned to chemistry than they are to imagery.

There is a type of spider that mimics the ants upon whose eggs it preys, so as to avoid being attacked. Its mimicry is visual as well as hormonal (i.e. olfactory).

As you mentioned the variety of camouflaging and adaptation is almost uncountable in the insect world.
It seems that evolution has resulted in nearly every imaginable type of camouflage, either for predation or defensive purposes, in almost all forms of life.

Even in stationary plants we see predation such as in the venus fly trap. They get their sustenance (not their energy) from animals and protozoans.

True carnivory is thought to have evolved independently nine times in five different orders of flowering plants, and is represented by more than a dozen genera. This classification includes at least 583 species that attract, trap, and kill prey, absorbing the resulting available nutrients. Additionally, over 300 protocarnivorous plant species in several genera show some but not all of these characteristics.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnivorous_plant

These plants have an advantage in that many pollinating insects already milk many flowering plants for nectar . It seems that many of these predatory plants use hydraulic systems to trap and render prey immobile until the digestive enzymes have done their work.

Trees seem to warn each other about caterpillar infestation and even healthy trees in the vicinity of an infected tree, will start producing tannin, which is a tree's defense against caterpillars. Remarkably, trees will produce tannin, but distribute it randomnly among its leaves, forcing the caterpillar to constantly change its digestive system, thereby delaying its maturation and control the damage from "clean" stripping of twigs.

In the ocean there are fish washing stations run by "cleaner shrimp". Fish park themselves and allow the shrimp to clean their scales. Instead of eating this species of shrimp, the fish and the shrimp have formed a symbiotic relationship. How do they "know" the difference?

Survival adaptations are astounding in their variety and methods. It seems nature just tries every possible variation and in the right environment sometimes the most bizarre adaptations may prove to be successful for survival.

 

[Hercules Rockefeller]

There’s no end of examples of organisms using hormonal mimicry in order to catch prey or trick pollinators. I also remember reading about different species of ants that can start reproducing each other’s pheromones in order to co-exist in close proximity. Some examples of these traits have been mentioned above.

But utilizing chemical mimicry solely for the purposes of camouflage? That strikes me as not as clear cut. Can anyone reference a specific example of this?

 

[DaveC426913]

But utilizing chemical mimicry solely for the purposes of camouflage? That strikes me as not as clear cut. Can anyone reference a specific example of this?

The spider I mentioned uses it to move freely among the ants, who would otherwise attack it.

 

[Write4U]

But utilizing chemical mimicry solely for the purposes of camouflage? That strikes me as not as clear cut. Can anyone reference a specific example of this?

As a defense certainly. The Bombardier Beetle is a perfect example.

Bombardier beetles are ground beetles (Carabidae) in the tribes Brachinini, Paussini, Ozaenini, or Metriini—more than 500 species altogether—which are most notable for the defense mechanism that gives them their name: when disturbed, they eject a hot noxious chemical spray from the tip of the abdomen with a popping sound.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardier_beetle

The ink from an octopus has a strong irritant which tends to discourage predators.

As camouflage;

Simply looking like a bumpy stick isn't enough for these caterpillars. Taking camouflage to the next level, the critters incorporate elements of whatever plant they're munching on right into their exoskeleton ... and end up smelling like a stick too.

 

[RainbowSingularity]

Even in stationary plants we see predation such as in the venus fly trap. They get their sustenance (not their energy) from animals and protozoans.

i have been pondering an image for some time of what prehistoric times looked like when the potential of carnivorous plants may have been the most common.
a world nearly over populated by flying insects etc...
covered in carnivorous plants
at the maxim of the flight stage where everything crawling began to dominate the flying space off the ground cover.

i have pondered if this is associated to the level of precipitation and thus;
will we see an explosion of insects as the water level rises ?

 

[RainbowSingularity]

I got to thinking to today and started wondering if their were animals or plants that changed how they smelled so as to blend in with their surroundings or to mimic another organism. Like how some creatures mimic visually to camoflage themselves or scare away predators like cuttlefish, or the creatures that mimic the sounds other creatures make, like some birds do. Do these behaviors exist in the wild in olfactory form? Thanks in advance.

https://www.petmd.com/dog/behavior/how-stop-your-dog-rolling-poop

Your dog comes running up to you covered in mud. Then you take a closer look—and smell—and realize that mud would be preferable to what’s all over your dog. Yes, your furry best friend has rolled in poop, and it’s everywhere—even trapped in the folds of her collar. It’s not just time for a bath, it’s time for a decontamination.
So why do dogs like to roll in smelly things like animal carcasses and waste? While there’s no concrete evidence that points to a single reason, there are a number of theories as to why dogs anoint themselves with bad odors. It’s suggested that dogs might do it to mask their own scent in a throwback to their hunting ancestry, or as a way to bring the scent home to the rest of the pack to allow others to track back to it. But the most likely reason is that they like the stench. Remember, dogs are fascinated by things that we consider disgusting, like urine on the mailbox post and the nether-regions of other dogs. Much like humans wear scents that we enjoy, like rose or sandalwood, it’s possible that dogs like being associated with the smell of fox poop.

 

[Write4U]

i have been pondering an image for some time of what prehistoric times looked like when the potential of carnivorous plants may have been the most common.
a world nearly over populated by flying insects etc...
covered in carnivorous plants
at the maxim of the flight stage where everything crawling began to dominate the flying space off the ground cover.

i have pondered if this is associated to the level of precipitation and thus;
will we see an explosion of insects as the water level rises ?

It's already happening. Aide from bacteria, there are only two species on the increase. Man because we can manipulate nature and the insect which can adapt to anything we do to nature.