Page 15 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

WHAT IS A CATERPILLAR?

Adaptation to such different environments has led to extraordinary

diversity in appearance and survival strategies. More than half of all species
are relatively unstudied “microlepidoptera,” the often pale-colored,
featureless, and very wormlike larvae of tiny moths, many of which feed

concealed within stems, fruits, seeds, and other foodstuffs and materials.

By contrast, the caterpillars of macro-moths and butterflies are often
colorful, with showy features such as bristles, spines, and filaments, and

make no attempt to conceal themselves. Bright, so-called aposematic
coloring is often a “warning” to potential predators that the caterpillars
are or might be bad tasting. Very hairy or spiny caterpillars are equally

unpalatable to predators such as birds; arming the spines with toxic
chemical secretions adds a further layer of defense. 13
The heads of caterpillars also show incredible diversity in coloration,
patterning, and shape, again as a defense, some resembling “faces,” with
BELOW The caterpillar
horns, false eyes, nose, and mouth. Others protect their head by having of the silkmoth
Automeris larra, like
“head-like” posteriors, presumably a bid to fool predators (at least half of many Saturniidae
silkmoth larvae, is
the time) into attacking the less vulnerable end. Many species, however, large and intimidating
when full grown. Its
are cryptically colored to blend with their environment. Some even change fl amboyant spines
can also deliver a
hue according to the part of the host plant they are feeding on, such painful sting.
as certain lycaenid butterfly caterpillars, which are green when

consuming leaves but become red, yellow, or orange if

they eat flower buds and petals.