Remember no, once, this AI pushed a question and answer about cockroaches in the deep mountain insect groan, and then a Shandong girl left a message saying that the caterpillar was disgusting...
And the next day, when ben AI happily recommended to everyone "the new [ask the doctor] function to be used quickly", there was a persistent fan friend...
?? See clearly, this is what you have to see! Let's talk about it when we're idle today!
What is a caterpillar? Maybe your first reaction is "butterfly larvae" – but in fact, the larvae of both butterflies and moths are caterpillars. More simply, caterpillars are the larvae of Lepidoptera – because both butterflies and moths fall into this category.
The most hated, of course, is the "hair" of the caterpillar. These "hairs" are the protrusions of their body wall, which can be divided into many kinds: the most common is bristles, the base of the bristles often has ossified or dark hair pieces, the high protrusions into conical hairs are called hairy processes, the nodular protrusions with many hairs are called hairs, the tightly clustered hairs are called hair clusters or hairs, and the side hairs are also branched out called branches...
However, what bothers us even more is the poisonous hairs or stingers of some species of caterpillars, which are connected to the venom gland cells on the body wall, and once the venom is broken, it flows out, making people painful and itchy, and the sting effect is absolutely "effect out of the group".
Seeing this, you may need to ask: Why study the most terrifying part of these "terrible little creatures"? In fact, the "hair order" of caterpillars, that is, the morphology and distribution of bristles, is an important taxonomic basis. In the eyes of insect taxonomists, each hair is named according to a combination of letters and numbers in the area – have you already begun to feel pain for them?
For non-professionals who can't figure out exactly how many caterpillars there are, it's perhaps even more difficult to tell which caterpillar is, even if it's the larvae of a butterfly or a moth. But don't worry, let's first see what the larvae of common butterflies look like:
Butterflies are so beautiful, how can they hurt people!
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Butterflies
Butterflies are the largest of butterflies, and their caterpillars are also quite large, smooth on the surface, and look fleshy.
The caterpillar of the butterfly has a secret weapon, the stink horn gland. When frightened, they protrude "Y" shaped horn glands from their heads, which then emit volatile gases synthesized from chemical components obtained from food. Due to the size of the caterpillar of the butterfly, coupled with the sudden outstretched stinky horn glands, resembling a small snake spitting out a letter, let the predators escape in confusion, of course, this trick may not work, and it will be eaten like a powerful opponent.
The larvae and adults of the citrus butterfly Papilio xuthus are known as stink horn glands in the orange gland protruding from the caterpillar's head in the upper left.
Image source: wikicommons
Only the musk butterfly, the ribbon butterfly, such caterpillars that feed on poisonous plants of the aristolochia family, let the natural enemies consciously avoid, in terms of appearance, the larvae of both are full of protrusions, and the color is also a warning "don't eat me".
Atrophaneura alcinous (Byasa alcinous) is a larvae and adult with a large number of protrusions on the surface of the larvae. Image source: wikicommons
Butterflies
The caterpillars of butterflies usually have horns or protrusions on their heads, have a cool face, and some have spines all over their bodies, which look a bit vicious or rugged, but are actually not so scary, because their spines are not toxic.
Larvae and adults of the pointed-winged butterflies Euthalia phemius. It should be noted that some of the stinging moth larvae look similar to this, and they are more frightening.
Image credit: Ning Caidi, John Lee
Grey butterfly
The gray butterfly caterpillar has a flattened body, a head shrunk in the forebreast, and its body shape is in the technical term "slug-shaped". Unlike slugs, gray butterflies also have bristles on their bodies because they are mostly green in color and look much cuter than slugs.
The adult grey butterfly is small, and the larvae are also small, and the color is very close to the environment.
The larvae and adults of lampides boeticus, the larvae only try to poke their heads out while they are eating.
Image credit: Horace Tan, wikicommons
Pink butterfly
Many people have a concept of caterpillars starting from vegetable green worms and vegetable powder butterflies, but what if you tell you now that the larvae of the vegetable powder butterfly are not the slippery green worms on the green vegetables (those are actually vegetable moths)? The larvae of the regular butterfly are densely covered with short bristles, have no branches, and look evenly shaped.
The caterpillars of the pink butterfly are similar in size to the green worms, and there will be differences in color, as well as the length and density of the bristles.
The larvae of the oriental butterfly Pieris canidia and the adults of the butterfly Pieris rapae, they are important pests of cruciferous vegetables.
Image credit: Three Butterflies, wikicommons
Butterflies
The caterpillar of the butterfly has a rounded head with a tight "neck" between the head and the body. Compared with the larvae of other butterflies, the butterfly larvae have a special habit, that is, they like to spit silk to stitch the two sides of the leaves together to form a "leaf nest", hide in the leaf nest during the day and do not move, and come out at night to eat the leaves. Peel off the leaf nests on the host plant and nine times out of ten you will find the butterfly larvae hiding inside.
The larvae and adults of bibasis gomata can be seen in the picture, and the larvae can be seen living in a typical simple leaf nest.
Image source: Tridentino, juzaphoto.com
Spotted butterflies
The caterpillars of the spotted butterfly feed on poisonous plants such as mariber tendons, which are protected by toxins and have a particularly eye-catching appearance. There are often yellow, white, and black stripes or patches of color that are distinct in color, and there are often fleshy protrusions on the middle chest and abdomen.
The larvae and adults of Danaus chrysippus, although they look poisonous and are indeed poisonous to eat, are not their specialty.
Image credit: Ferran Turmo Gort, wikicommons
You may also find out here: even the most ferocious-looking butterfly larvae do not have the legendary stingers. So what exactly is the bite of a caterpillar that makes people feel painful?
Your moth is in my hand!
According to the exclusion method, we can know that the "little monsters" that sting people do not blink are the larvae of the moths. But in fact, there are many larvae of moths that are harmless to humans and animals, and even have no hair, which does not look similar to common caterpillars.
How can I determine if they are caterpillars and not other insect larvae that resemble them? An important distinguishing feature is their feet – you may wonder, aren't insects theoretically all three-legged? It is true that caterpillars have three pairs of segmented pectoral feet, but to support their long, fat bodies, their abdomen also produces a number of pairs of fleshy unsected protrusions called "gastropods". Caterpillars generally have 2–5 pairs of gastropods with toe hooks on the gastropods, and only species of the small-winged moth family have 8 pairs of gastropods; while those similar species do not have such characteristics, such as leaf bees larvae also have three pairs of pectoral feet, but 6–8 pairs of gastropods, and there are no toe hooks on them.
The larvae of the larch leaf bee (Pristiphora erichsonii) look similar to caterpillars, but can be distinguished according to the number of gastropods. And if you look closely at their gastropods, you will find that they lack the toe hooks that are characteristic of caterpillars (as shown in the picture on the right).
Photo: exoticpests.gc.ca, Tridentino
But it is undeniable that while the larvae of moths are not necessarily poisonous, those poisonous caterpillars are almost always larvae of moths. In order to blame good insects and let go of bad insects, let's also get to know the common moths and their larvae:
Ruler moth
The caterpillar of the ruler moth is the familiar inchworm, with a round and slender body. The inchworm has only two pairs of gastropods, in the sixth and tenth segments of the body, so the inchworm arches its body in an arc as it crawls, and then stretches forward, arching forward one arch at a time— just like measuring something with a ruler.
The larvae and adults of the Biston betularia are masters of hiding.
Image: Wiki Commons
The inchworm has a unique skill, that is, it can rest on the plant with a pair of gastropods, and stand up straight on the branches of the plant, which at first glance looks exactly like the branches, and this mimicry resembles a god.
sphinx
The caterpillar body of the moth is cylindrical, thick and thick, with a smooth body, and the most easily distinguishable feature is a prominent tail horn (also called a hip horn) on the back of the end of the abdomen.
The larvae of the Theretra japonica and the adults of the theretra oldenlandiae are very cute with eye spots on their heads.
Image: D. Ruyle，Bettaman，T. Mizo
Some species have eye spots on the sides of the body or behind the head, which can have some camouflage and intimidation effects.
The moth
The caterpillar of the striated moth is the most eerie-looking, with two dorsal horns on each of the second and third body segments, a head that looks like a dragon king, and three dorsal horns at the end of the body. However, at the end of the age, these dorsal corners will fall off. When disturbed, the larvae of the moth will rub their bodies to make a "clucking" sound.
Larvae of the long-horned yellow-brown certhia (Brahmaea certhia) and feathered adults.
Image: Igor Siwanowicz, Juraj Macko
The larvae of the moth eat mostly plants of the wood rhinoceros family, such as Privet, Osmanthus and so on, and the amount of food is quite large.
Large silkworm moth
The caterpillars of the large silkworm moth look fat and mostly fleshy, with distinct segmentation. The body color is mostly yellow-green, pale green or brownish green, and each section is evenly distributed with spines. Common ones are the green-tailed silkworm moth, the camphor silkworm moth and so on.
Three-year-old larvae and adults of the green-tailed silkworm moth (Actias selene).
Image: Tridentino, Leroy Simon
Moths
The caterpillar of the moth hides in a homemade sac, also known as the bag moth, the debt avoidant moth. The sac is made up of silk spit by the larvae, plus leaf debris and other debris.
A certain moth may be a larvae of the Hyalarcta huebneri (Hyalarcta huebneri) and its sacs.
The moth pupates and feathers in the sac. The female moth still retains the form of a larvae and hides in the sac, while the male moth has wings and can fly.
Thorn moth
The most shadowy and frightening thing is the caterpillar of the thorn moth. The larvae of the thorn moth are commonly known as the foreign spicy seeds, and the whole body is densely covered with thick branches and thorns, and if it is accidentally pricked by poisonous hairs, it will be red, swollen and itchy.
The larvae and adults of the brown-edged green thorn moth (Latoia consocia), the brilliant color indicates that it is definitely not easy to mess with.
Image: Segment, naver.net
The appearance of conventional spices does not need to be introduced much, and the neat and thick branches and thorns are respected by everyone, and because they are poisonous, the colors are usually very bright. There are also a very few "scum" of the spiny moth family, such as the back-stinging moth, which has no thorns all over the body and is very soft to the touch.
The "indisputable" backstab moth (Belippa horrida) looked very cute as a child, but unfortunately it blackened after feathering.
Photo: Tridentino, thaibugs.com
Poisonous moths
Like the stinging moth, the caterpillars of the poisonous moth also grow clusters of poisonous hairs. The bristles of the whole body are pinnate branches, ranging in length to short. There are many nodular protrusions on the dorsal side of the abdomen of the poison moth larvae, which are where the poison gland cells are located. Each venom gland cell is connected to a poisonous hollow thorn hair, and after contact with human skin, the end breaks the venom and flows out, making the skin itchy, painful and red.
Larvae and adults of the calliteara pudibunda.
Image: Shutterstock, Wiki Commons
The larvae of the poisonous moth have a pair of constrictive glands in the abdomen 6-7, which are usually contracted, and are threatened to turn out while secreting venom.
Dead leaf moth
The dead leaf moth's caterpillar is as daunting as a caterpillar, with neatly packed tufts of long hair, some of which are brightly colored and eye-catching, and some of which are gray and dark close to the bark. Pine caterpillars, as we often hear, are a species of the leaf moth family. The poisonous hairs of the larvae of the leaf moth are arranged in clusters on the dorsal ridge, and when making the cocoon, the poisonous hairs will also be lined up outside the cocoon shell, if people accidentally come into contact with the poisonous hairs, it will cause itchy redness and swelling of the skin, and even cause dermatitis and general discomfort.
Larvae and adults of the yellow-green leafless moth (Trabala vishnou), the wings of the adults are very characteristic.
Image credit: John Horstman, Bettaman
I believe that everyone has more or less been stung by caterpillars, do you hate them?
Here I must tell you the fact that most caterpillars have six side monocular eyes on each side of the head, and some species have fewer monocular or no monocular at all. The monocular of an insect is different from the compound eye, which can only feel the intensity of light and cannot be imaged, so the caterpillar cannot actually see you. Their stinging hair is just a weapon to protect themselves from harm, and you are the one who may inflict damage.
As for events like "The sweet potato fell into the neck, you said how I hurt it", ah, you have to blame the pursuit of the wind, or the tree's non-retention...
How can AI be so beautiful to sting people?
The reason why the caterpillar can become a beautiful butterfly is not because it is diligent and low-key, hard-working, pupating and cocooning, and blockbuster... It's because its parents are butterflies.
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A stinging moth larvae without a single thorn, so humiliating... But it's so cute!!!