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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 ...
The larvae (or caterpillars) emerge in April and initially eat the buds of oak trees and young leaves inside them. [1] [6] When fully grown, the larvae are between 25 and 29 millimetres (0.98 and 1.14 in) long with a body that can be yellow-green or darker shades of green.
Gonimbrasia belina is a species of emperor moth which is native to the warmer parts of southern Africa.Its large edible caterpillar, known as the mopane worm, madora, amacimbi “pigeon moth”, masonja or Seboko sa Mongana, feeds primarily but not exclusively on mopane tree leaves.
The caterpillars are mostly found in oak trees or on the ground under them in late spring and early summer, and do not live on fences, walls, etc. as other caterpillars do. They have very long, white hairs contrasting markedly with shorter hairs. [1] The caterpillars of several other species may be mistaken for the oak processionary. [3]
The host plant selection is vital because it provides the food source for the young caterpillars. Females are known to have multiple broods, [ 17 ] typically up to two to three. [ 8 ] The newly hatched caterpillars will group together until they shed their skin—termed an instar for each shedding.
The egg masses, larvae (caterpillars), and adults of O. lunifer all have urticating scales or hairs that are harmful to humans and other animals. Records of Bag-shelter nests and caterpillars causing adverse effects on the health of humans and livestock date back to the early 1900s [8] (as Teara contraria)].
The tree in which a female deposits the eggs is where the larvae will choose to feed. The most common host plants that caterpillars feed on are leaves from stonefruit trees. However, larvae will feed on many other types of tree foliage. Adult moths do not eat and live for 1–4 days. [7]
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 ...