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Certain caterpillars eat plants that are toxic to both themselves and the parasite to cure themselves. [24] Drosophila melanogaster larvae also self-medicate with ethanol to treat parasitism. [25] D. melanogaster females lay their eggs in food containing toxic amounts of alcohol if they detect parasitoid wasps nearby. The alcohol protects them ...
Its consumption of toxic plants makes it distasteful to most predators. An exception is the smooth-billed ani (Crotophaga ani), which tears the caterpillar apart to eat it, avoiding the gut containing the plant material. The caterpillar is also coated in barbed urticating hairs, which stick deeply in skin and cause irritation. If caught, the ...
Human consumption of a moth caterpillar (genus Cirina, Saturniidae) in Burkina Faso Fried Cirina caterpillars being served on bread for human consumption. Entomophagy in humans or human entomophagy describes the consumption of insects (entomophagy) by humans in a cultural and biological context.
Acharia stimulea is known for having one of the strongest stings and, because the saddleback caterpillar is commonly found in ornamental plants, gardeners are most at risk of accidental exposure. The spines along the caterpillar, when broken, will release an irritating toxin into its victims that is known to cause acute urticaria in humans. [ 3 ]
Lonomia obliqua is a species of saturniid moth ("giant silk moth") from South America. [1] It is famous for its larval form, rather than the adult moth, primarily because of the caterpillar's defense mechanism, urticating bristles that inject a potentially deadly venom.
The caterpillars feed mostly on acacia (wattle) trees and Grevillea striata (beefwood). If they have totally defoliated their food tree, the caterpillars migrate to seek out another one, leaving a silk trail. When a caterpillar of the species encounters such a trail it will follow it, especially if there is a pheromone scent associated with it ...
Plants contain toxins which protect them from herbivores, but some caterpillars have evolved countermeasures which enable them to eat the leaves of such toxic plants. In addition to being unaffected by the poison, the caterpillars sequester it in their body, making them highly toxic to predators. The chemicals are also carried on into the adult ...
Cutworms are moth larvae that hide under litter or soil during the day, coming out in the dark to feed on plants. A larva typically attacks the first part of the plant it encounters, namely the stem, often of a seedling, and consequently cuts it down; hence the name cutworm. Cutworms are not worms, biologically speaking, but caterpillars.