<P> Parasites can also be aggressive mimics, though the situation is somewhat different from those outlined previously . Some predators have a feature that draws prey; parasites can also mimic their host's natural prey, but are eaten themselves, a pathway into their host . Leucochloridium, a genus of flatworm, matures in the digestive system of songbirds, their eggs then passing out of the bird in the faeces . They are then taken up by Succinea, a terrestrial snail . The eggs develop in this intermediate host, and must then find a suitable bird to mature in . Since the host birds do not eat snails, the sporocyst has another strategy to reach its host's intestine . They are brightly coloured and move in a pulsating fashion . A sporocyst - sac pulsates in the snail's eye stalks, coming to resemble an irresistible meal for a songbird . In this way, it can bridge the gap between hosts, allowing it to complete its life cycle . A nematode (Myrmeconema neotropicum) changes the colour of the abdomen of workers of the canopy ant Cephalotes atratus to make it appear like the ripe fruits of Hyeronima alchorneoides . It also changes the behaviour of the ant so that the gaster (rear part) is held raised . This presumably increases the chances of the ant being eaten by birds . The droppings of birds are collected by other ants and fed to their brood, thereby helping to spread the nematode . </P> <P> In an unusual case, planidium larvae of some beetles of the genus Meloe form a group and produce a pheromone that mimics the sex attractant of its host bee species . When a male bee arrives and attempts to mate with the mass of larvae, they climb onto his abdomen . From there, they transfer to a female bee, and from there to the bee nest to parasitize the bee larvae . </P> <P> Host - parasite mimicry is a two species system where a parasite mimics its own host . Cuckoos are a canonical example of brood parasitism, a form of kleptoparasitism where the mother has its offspring raised by another unwitting organism, cutting down the biological mother's parental investment in the process . The ability to lay eggs that mimic the host eggs is the key adaptation . The adaptation to different hosts is inherited through the female line in so - called gentes (gens, singular). Cases of intraspecific brood parasitism, where a female lays in conspecific's nest, as illustrated by the goldeneye duck (Bucephala clangula), do not represent a case of mimicry . A different mechanism is chemical mimicry, as seen in the parasitic butterfly Phengaris rebeli, which parasitizes the ant species Myrmica schencki by releasing chemicals that fool the worker ants to believe that the caterpillar larvae are ant larvae, and enable the P. rebeli larvae to be brought directly into the M. schencki nest . Parasitic (cuckoo) bumblebees (formerly Psithyrus, now included in Bombus) resemble their hosts more closely than would be expected by chance, at least in areas like Europe where parasite - host co-speciation is common . However, this is explainable as Müllerian mimicry, rather than requiring the parasite's coloration to deceive the host and thus constitute aggressive mimicry . </P> <P> Reproductive mimicry occurs when the actions of the dupe directly aid in the mimic's reproduction . This is common in plants with deceptive flowers that do not provide the reward they seem to offer and it may occur in Papua New Guinea fireflies, in which the signal of Pteroptyx effulgens is used by P. tarsalis to form aggregations to attract females . Other forms of mimicry have a reproductive component, such as Vavilovian mimicry involving seeds, and brood parasitism, which can also involve aggressive mimicry . </P>

How do many common types of behavior evolve in animals