Frazz by Jef Mallett for July 11, 2010
July 10, 2010
July 12, 2010
Transcript:
girl: What's this one? A Monarch? Frazz: Yup! Wait. Nope. It's a Viceroy. girl: You got fooled by a bug? Frazz: That's the whole idea. Birds like Viceroy's, but Monarchs make them sick. So the one does it's best to look like the other, and the smart bird doesn't take any chances. Scientists call that "Batesian mimicry." girl: I'd hurl if I ate either one. Frazz: Oh. That's Mullerian mimicry.
childe_of_pan over 7 years ago
I know others have commented on this before, but one of the things I love about Frazz is having to look up new stuff in order to understand the joke. I think that might well be part of Jef’s intention. (Some people look them up and then post their findings, but I think that defeats the purpose, not to mention taking away the fun of finding out for oneself.)
CamiSu Premium Member over 5 years ago
Apparently the Viceroy/Monarch relationship is, in fact Mullerian mimicry. Research has shown tha the Viceroy is at least as unpalatable as the Monarch. Here is a video of a paper on it. (This is very strange to listen to, as it is not narrated by a human, but by a machine. Said machine does not understand things such as headings, a A) B) etc.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3oQSC1JRSE