The incredible otherwordly caterpillars of Ecuador

[Judi Lynn]

The incredible otherwordly caterpillars of Ecuador
Melissa Breyer (@MelissaBreyer)
Science / Animals
October 10, 2016





© Andreas Kay/flickr



From cute as a kitten to fierce as a dragon, these exquisite caterpillars prove there's no limit to bizarre when Mother Nature is driving.

Caterpillars are a wonder. The ever-so-curious larvae of butterflies and moths garner much more affection than other insect larvae, and there is little denying that they are really charming. Yes, they can inflict some serious stings and devour whole crops, but once they graduate to full-blown butterfly and moth status, they become important pollinators and part of a healthy ecosystem. Consider caterpillar-hood as the rebellious teen years.

One of the greatest challenges caterpillar face is that they are essentially slow-moving bundles of protein that make for excellent meals for their predators. Which is why they have developed all kinds of fancy tricks, like the aforementioned stinging thing as well as their array of looks which work to make them look larger, or scarier, or like other things, or hidden, and so on. All so clever, and all a delight to the nature lover with a soft-spot for larvae.

The following images show some of the extreme caterpillars of Ecuador, a place of astounding biodiversity. The photos were taken by scientist Andreas Kay, who has been documenting the diversity of life in Ecuador as an independent scientist since 2011 in order to raise more awareness for the treasures there, many of which are threatened by the destruction of tropical forests.

More:
http://www.treehugger.com/animals/incredible-otherwordly-caterpillars-ecuador.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+treehuggersite+%28Treehugger%29

[pansypoo53219]

1. need before & after pics.

[Solly Mack]

2. Oh, wow! How wonderfully awesome!

I love bugs.

[world wide wally]

3. That first one looks like a cartoon character

[keithbvadu2]

4. Lower left looks like it's been deep fried

[locks]

5. My great granddaughter 6 and great grandson 2

love, love insects, going to the butterfly pavilion, holding the tarantulas, and keeping some in little cages in the house. I imagine you can't count on these Ecuadoran caterpillars being safe to hold but they are beautiful.

[TexasBushwhacker]

6. The ones that look like snakes are amazing n/t

[TuxedoKat]

7. I planted some fennel

in my garden this spring and in late summer it attracted beautiful green and yellow-striped caterpillars sort of similar to the one in the top right corner. Wish I knew what it was.

[Rebl]

8. They become

Swallowtail butterflies. They like to lay their eggs on fennel and curly leaf parsley. We plant parsley specifically for the butterflies to lay their eggs on.

[TuxedoKat]

9. Thanks

Will definitely plant more fennel next year and add some parsley too. 😀

[Liberal_in_LA]

10. So cool