May 2015: Marie Herbenstein, deception and disguise of orchid mantis and owl butterflies with @jamohanlon @JohannaMappes and @SebaDeBona

This month I’m joined by special guest James O’Hanlon from the Australian museum in Sydney for a deception and disguise special. James tells me about his PhD research on mantids that trick bees by mimicking flowers - or do they?! And we discuss a new paper showing that butterfly eyepsots might really be mimicking the eyes of a predator’s own predator. In the Scientific spark I talk to Marie Herbenstein, from Macquarie University in Sydney, who tells me that things might have not gone the way they have if she’d chosen a different research project!

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The owl butterfly Photo Credit: 1funny.com

Quicklinks:

James O'Hanlon's webpage

Predator mimicry, not conspicuousness, explains the efficacy of butterfly eyespots

Marie Herbenstein's webpage

April 2015: Tristram Wyatt, the hormonal bond between humans and their dogs, and predator-prey flight and fight behaviour

This month I discover what black field crickets do when predatory lizards get too close. I find out how humans bond with their canine chums. In the Scientific spark I talk to Tristram Wyatt, from the University of Oxford, who tells me how he became fascinated in all things pheromone-y.

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Borrow my doggy-friend - Milo

Quicklinks:

Patricio Lago's webpage

Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds

Tristram Wyatt's webpage