Wildlife photographer Gerald Azpru shows rare, bizarre caterpillars such as the citrine caterpillar that he photographs living in the rainforest. Not much is known about these small beings, known as "gem caterpillars", only that they belong to the "bright moth family". There are 84 species of moths in the "Bright Moth Family", including the following kinds of shiny moth larvae. Of course, they're just good-looking, and don't even think about touching these little guys who look soft and shiny. The picture shows the crab citrine caterpillar.
Although the caterpillars and adults of the bright moth family were included in scientists' inventories a century ago, they have only recently been frequently exposed to the public, in part because of the habits of these creatures, which live in the tropical rainforests of the neotropics. The Neotropical Realm is one of the zoogeographic divisions that covers the entire South American continent, the Mexican Lowlands, and Central America. Modern advanced photography techniques have helped these caterpillars, giving them the opportunity to make their faces appear in National Geographic. Among the many recent blogs about nature, the content about these gem caterpillars has been the most popular, and they seem to have been brought to people by these new social media overnight.
These gem caterpillars are really good-looking, but what exactly are they? In the large family of caterpillars, these gem caterpillars are absolutely outstanding. Even if some caterpillars have no color, their shiny gelatinous coat still makes them appear more vivid and eye-catching than ordinary bugs.
The sunlight shining on them makes people forget their scientific names and only remember their popular names: "Gem Caterpillar", which seems to be incompatible with their real name "Slugs", and some of them even have dazzling colors. It's no wonder people remember their names just because of their appearance.
The species of "gem caterpillar" shown in this picture is the crab citrine caterpillar, a moth larva called "acraga coa" that lives in a Tropical Rainforest in Mexico. It became popular because a professional wildlife photographer named Geraldo Azpru found and photographed it in April 2012 in a mangrove forest near Cancun, Mexico.
Over the next few weeks, Azpru's "Living Diamonds" caught fire, and his blog posts spread across the Internet at the speed of light, with netizens pouring in to ask him what these things were and where to find similar creatures.
Star members of the caterpillar family who live in the rainforest are brought into the spotlight by photographers, bringing them into the knowledge base of the internet. One wonders, is there any other caterpillar that has a look comparable to that?
They just look like gemstones. These "gem caterpillars" look so beautiful that they can even be used to decorate girls with their clothes. In fact, there's a reason they have this beautiful appearance: predators and some insects hate the slimy, shiny appearance of the "gem caterpillar", which also allows these little guys to escape from the predator's mouth.
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Moreover, it seems that these little ones are also very aware of the role of their protective coat, and they will use this protective effect to the extreme: they often climb to the top of the leaves, so that the sun shines more fully on them, so that their diamond-like coat looks more shiny, so that predators and predators are less likely to invade them.
Distinguishing between the types of these caterpillars is a very difficult thing to do. Not because they all look so stupid, but because the place where these little creatures live is really difficult to reach, and they become completely unrecognizable once they are skinned, which makes identifying their names into a riddle.
What exactly are they called? For those who don't have to concoct academic papers and simply enjoy the wonders of nature, it is enough to know that they are called "gem caterpillars". Let's stop dwelling on what exactly they're called, whether it's Lyme Green or Emerald?
Every caterpillar is destined to become a moth if they survive the long stage of metamorphosis from caterpillar to moth into a cocoon. For these "gem caterpillars", their process of "cocooning into butterflies" is still veiled with mystery. Unless scientists show us the process, let's fantasize about them weaving gorgeous golden baskets and turning into moths.
Everyone knows the inspirational story of ugly caterpillars turning into beautiful butterflies, but moths are relatively eclipsed by the average person, and the moths that "gem caterpillars" turn into are no exception. The moth's color is not only monotonous, but the furry feel is even reminiscent of the poodle at the Westminster Kennel Show.
The shiny, sticky gelatinous form and the fluffy silky fluff are two extreme opposites, but in the life of the "gem caterpillar", it has experienced this magical change step by step. This is just another proof of nature's wonders. Or maybe it's just the perfect form of species after millions of years of evolution, but maybe in a few million years, they will metamorphose again.