Natures wonders: a camouflage caterpillar (Introduction)

by David Turell , Friday, April 25, 2025, 17:28 (19 hours, 46 minutes ago) @ David Turell

Covered with parts of victims:

https://www.sciencealert.com/bone-collector-caterpillar-wears-dead-bugs-to-steal-prey-f...

"A species of caterpillar that scientists are calling the 'bone collector' is not only a carnivore, and a cannibal, it also dresses itself in the body parts of dead insects so it can sneak around undetected and steal prey right from the jaws of spiders.

"No other species of caterpillar has been observed behaving this way, and only 62 individuals of the species have been seen in 20 years of fieldwork.

***

"Caterpillars are the larval stage for insects of the Lepidoptera order – you know, butterflies and moths. As adults, most of these insects primarily feed on plant matter (mostly), and their larvae do the same. It's common to see caterpillars merrily munching away on a leaf.

"Carnivorous species are rare. Just 0.1 percent of the known butterfly and moth species have caterpillars that like to munch on other animals. Caterpillars aren't exactly the most nimble of creatures, so the food of carnivorous species often includes slow-moving or stationary prey such as scale insects that cling to trees, wasp and ant larvae, and the eggs of other insects.

"The bone collector's strategy involves cozying up to a spider. A research team led by entomologist Daniel Rubinoff of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa observed the species in the wild, and collected several specimens to observe their behavior in a laboratory setting. The way they live their lives is very strange for a caterpillar.

"In the wild, a bone collector caterpillar will find an enclosed spider web – one that's safely concealed under tree bark, for example – and collect inedible pieces of insect to make themselves a little coat, bound together with silk.

"Once there, they'll happily chow down on any insects caught in the web, even chewing through the silk wrappers of snacks that the spider has stashed for later.

"The researchers found them living this way with multiple species of spiders, none of which were native to Hawaii, suggesting that the caterpillar is somewhat adaptable.

"In the lab, the researchers gave the caterpillars a variety of detritus to choose from to build their little nests. The caterpillars noticeably only chose the body parts of other insects, or shed spider skin, eschewing bits of twig or leaf or bark. And when no insect parts were offered, the caterpillars did not accept anything else: it's bug bits or nothing.

"'Given the context," the researchers write, "it is possible that the array of partially consumed body parts and shed spider skins covering the case forms effective camouflage from a spider landlord; the caterpillars have never been found predated by spiders or wrapped in spider silk.'"

Comment: considering this bug changes to mush in becoming a flying insect, this learned behavior caries through the metamorphosis process. This certainly looks like learned behavior, but conssidering the complexity of cozing up to spiders it may well be designed.