False Heads, Dead Leaves, and Other Mimicry

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When some creationists post photos of the cobra-like images on the upper wings of the Atlas moth, it is not uncommon for a village atheist to react with derision: "Now I believe in yer gawd, haw, haw! St00pid Xian, it evolved. End of story." Yes, they do that kind of stuff.

If this was a one-off example, it could easily be dismissed as a coincidence. Mimicry is surprisingly frequent. Insects can pose as dead leaves, sticks, and seem to have false heads at the tail-ends of wings. A predator nibbles, and the butterfly gets out of Dodge.

Dead leaf butterfly, Wikimedia Commons / S herle123 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Researchers studied lycaenid butterflies. Over 900 species. Although the researchers sacrificed their minds to Darwin and paid him homage, they still had a few interesting things to say. For one thing, these designs had several common characteristics and did indeed resemble heads. How did they supposedly evolve gradually over time? The deceptions had to work from the onset, gradualism won't work. Once again, it is reasonable to conclude that this is the work of the Master Designer. My own speculation is that God is trolling scoffers.

You can read the article that inspired this post at "For Darwinism, Here Is the Problem with Butterfly Mimicry."