Advertising in biology

Advertising in biology means the use of displays by organisms such as animals and plants to signal their presence for some evolutionary reason.

Such signalling may be honest, used to attract other organisms, as when flowers use bright colours, patterns, and scent to attract pollinators such as bees; or, again honestly, to warn off other organisms, as when distasteful animals use warning coloration to prevent attacks from potential predators.

Insect-pollinated flowers use bright colours, patterns, rewards of nectar and pollen, and scent to attract pollinators such as bees.

[3] Many flowers that are adapted for pollination by birds produce copious quantities of nectar and advertise this with their red coloration.

The honest advertisement benefits both sender and receiver, as neither need become involved in a costly fight to assess their relative strength.

The grasshopper thus avoids being eaten while the potential predator hunts in vain for the brightly coloured insect it saw.

[12] Male crickets chirp to attract females, and in some species, their calls can be heard from great distances.

However, a certain parasitic fly has taken advantage of this, the female is attracted to a calling male cricket on which it then deposits its developing larvae.

[15] Distasteful animals use warning coloration (aposematism) to prevent attacks from potential predators.