Facts about Caterpillar
Like all insects, caterpillars breathe through a series of small openings along the sides of their thorax and abdomen called spiracles.
Caterpillars have soft bodies that can grow rapidly, like balloons, between molts.
Some are cannibals, and others prey on caterpillars of other species (e.g.
Bacillus thuringiensis is a soil-dwelling bacterium that also occurs naturally in the caterpillars of some moths and butterflies.
Some caterpillars are able to detect vibrations, usually at a highly specific frequency.
Caterpillars have been the target of pest control through the use of pesticides, biological control, and agronomic practices.
A caterpillar is the larval stage of a member of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
The most alarming aspect of the Aztec culture was the practice of human sacrifice, which was known throughout Mesoamerica prior to the Spanish conquest.
The silkworm is a caterpillar that has spawned an entire industry, the silk industry.
Some caterpillars will regurgitate acidic digestive juices at attacking enemies.
Some caterpillars obtain protection by associating themselves with ants.
Caterpillars of the common hook-tip moth, Drepana arcuata (Drepanoidea), produce sounds to defend their silk nests from members of their own species, by scraping against the leaf in a ritualized acoustic duel (Yack et al.
Caterpillars are predominantly herbivores: 99 percent of species feed on plants.
On the other hand, many caterpillar species, such as the Cotton bollworm, are known to cause enormous losses to farmers.
The gypsy moth is an example of caterpillars that damage trees, being a pest of hardwood trees in the Eastern United States.
Host plants themselves have mechanisms of resistance to herbivory by caterpillars and these include chemical toxins and physical barriers such as hairs.
Another difference is that lepidopteran caterpillars have crochets or hooks on the prolegs, while these are absent on the sawfly larvae.
Many moth species are better known in their caterpillar stages because of the damage they cause to fruits and other agricultural produce.
Tent caterpillars can also detect vibrations at the frequency of wing beats of one of their natural enemies (Fitzgerald 1995).
Incorporating host plant resistance (HPR) through plant breeding is another approach used in reducing the impact of caterpillars on crop plants.
In caterpillars, the mandibles are tough and sharp for chewing leaves; in most adult Lepidoptera, the mandibles are highly reduced, or soft.
Some caterpillars are gregarious and such aggregations are believed to help in reducing the levels of parasitization (Entry and Dyer 2002).
Caterpillars, being protein-rich, are a source of food for many species of animals.
More aggressive self-defense measures are taken by hairy caterpillars.
Caterpillars grow through a series of molts and each intermediate stage is called an instar.
Behind the mandibles of the caterpillar are the spinnerets, for manipulating silk.
The gypsy moth is an example of caterpillars that damage trees, being a pest of hardwood trees in the Eastern United States.
Some later descriptions treat the wisent as conspecific with the American bison.
A further difference in lepidopteran caterpillars is the upside down Y shaped suture on the front of the head (Scoble 1995).
Some Hawaiian caterpillars (Hyposmocoma molluscivora) use silk traps to capture snails (Rubinoff and Haines 2005).
Tent caterpillars can also detect vibrations at the frequency of wing beats of one of their natural enemies (Fitzgerald 1995).
Some caterpillars have large false eyes towards the rear of their abdomen.
The silkworm is a caterpillar that has spawned an entire industry, the silk industry.