Those Hazy, Lazy Days Of Summer Are Past Us Now,

but looking forward to next summer,

if you were relaxing in say you garden, and one of these settled on your arm, what would you do? hopefully nothing, photograph Gyorgy Csoka/Wikimedia Commons this is an example of  Batesian mimicry, a form of mimicry where a harmless species has evolved to imitate the look and/or behaviour of a harmful species in order to protect itself from predator, the insect above is in fact a moth, the European Hornet Moth, (Sesia apiformis),

despite the ominous look of the European hornet moth, the species is completely harmless to humans, as it lacks any kind of stinger, as well as the ability to bite. But it doesn’t need either of those, as its appearance alone is enough to keep most humans at a safe distance, Sesia apiformis can be found across Europe, the UK, in parts of the Middle East, and it has recently been introduced to North America as well. Although harmless to humans, it is considered a secondary threat to poplar trees, especially in Great Britain, as they feed on their wood and also deposit their larvae in the trees, from which they emerge as adults, just so you know the difference, although the moth even mimics the hornets flight patterns, on closer inspection you will notice the insect’s lack of a clearly defined, wasp-like waste, a furry body, and it has two uncharacteristically small eyes, next question if it is a real hornet that landed on your arm, what would you do?