Gilbertian mimicry

A later example is the mimicking of a mammalian hormone by an ant toxin which causes long-lasting hypersensitivity, Gilbertian mimicry at a molecular level.

The name was coined by the French biologist Georges Pasteur [fr] as a phrase for the rare mimicry system.

The host plants have evolved small yellow projections on their leaves, stipules, that mimic mature Heliconius eggs near the point of hatching.

The result is long-lasting hypersensitivity in bitten mammals, implying that ErbB is involved in signalling mammalian pain.

The mechanism is, according to David Eagles and colleagues, analogous to the Gilbertian Passiflora/Heliconius system, except that the mimicry exists at the level of molecules rather than whole organisms (butterfly eggs).