Thursday, July 21, 2005
Killer Caterpillars
Tropical islands have always been treasure troves to evolutionary biologists - a trip to the Galapagos largely fueled Darwin's ideas. In Hawaii, researchers have characterized a group of caterpillars that do a couple of things other caterpillars don't do: they eat snails; and they do so by trapping them.
This is really so cool. Like spiders, all caterpillars secrete a sticky substance, but other caterpillars merely use theirs to spin cocoons, whilst clever spiders spin webs to trap prey. This is even cleverer.
This is really so cool. Like spiders, all caterpillars secrete a sticky substance, but other caterpillars merely use theirs to spin cocoons, whilst clever spiders spin webs to trap prey. This is even cleverer.
