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Caterpillar That Makes Own Leafy 'Armor'


Still Waters

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A caterpillar that was recently discovered in Peru exhibits a behavior previously unknown in caterpillars. It pieces together a tube of leaves and crawls inside; then, it "walks" by grabbing bits of the forest undergrowth with its mouth and pulling itself and its leafy covering forward.

This never-before-seen activity was spotted and documented by Joe Hanson. When Hanson picked up the caterpillar, it retreated inside the protective tube, "like a knight inside a suit of armor," Hanson said in a video, suggesting that it was using the tube as a type of camouflage and protection against predators. 

http://www.livescience.com/57589-bizarre-caterpillar-makes-leafy-armor-photos.html

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I love caterpillars and their lifestyle has always amazed me. 

Do wonder sometimes if they're cognizant of what they do when they're at the end of their life cycle, though. I mean do they KNOW they're building a cocoon around themselves or do they just realize it right at the very last second, look up, and be like, "da **** am I doing?"

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That's pretty cool. I'm going to show that to my 5 year old tomorrow.

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It's just another type of bagworm or case moth. Mother's evergreen shrubs became infested with a species of them every summer.            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagworm_moth

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