Rove Beetles
It’s quite a ploy. Rove beetles blend seamlessly into army ant societies, but instead of helping out, they devour the young of their unsuspecting companions. The deceit is so successful that it has evolved independently in at least 12 parasitic rove beetle species – a phenomenon called convergent evolution. In each case, the beetles’ entire body shape has evolved to resemble the army ants they prey on, and they smell and act like the ants too. The finding challenges arguments that different creatures would evolve if the evolutionary clock was started from scratch. Instead, it suggests that evolution may take similar and predictable paths whenever a certain scenario arises.
