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The female is slightly larger than the male in larva form, and as an adult finds a mate by extruding an organ that emits a pheromone which the male can smell. The male, which unlike the female has the large, feathered antennae characteristic of pheromone-using moths, flies zigzag search patterns, eventually homing in on a female.
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.
The shining cuckoo is one exception and will prey on the spiny caterpillar. The cuckoos tend to leave the skin, only eating the viscera of the caterpillar. If the skins are swallowed they are later disposed of in pellets covered with saliva. [4] One third of the caterpillars found in the stomach of shining cuckoos in a study were N. annulata. [20]
In early instars, the larvae feed together in groups, but beginning in the third or fourth instar the caterpillars begin to feed individually. [8] [9] The larvae eat the entire leaf blade and are capable of consuming a few leaves each. Thus, large populations of greenstriped mapleworms are capable of defoliating trees.
Many caterpillars are cryptically colored and resemble the plants on which they feed. An example of caterpillars that use camouflage for defense is the species Nemoria arizonaria. If the caterpillars hatch in the spring and feed on oak catkins they appear green. If they hatch in the summer they appear dark colored, like oak twigs.
As caterpillars, they tend to feed on a wide range of host plants. This includes oak, apple, birch, willow, hackberry, cherry and coniferous trees such as fir and spruce.
A tail-like spine protruding from the back of the body is a typical for sphingid moth caterpillars, known as “hornworms”. [2] This horn, which may sometimes be yellow and have a black tip, is not a stinger, and the caterpillars are not harmful to humans. [7] The larvae can also sometimes be lime green and black.
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