Is the Very Hungry Caterpillar… a very grisly scavenger?!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Hawai’i is a tropical paradise… with a dark secret: A terrifying new species of caterpillar! Most caterpillars only eat plants. But there, CARNIVOROUS caterpillars use corpses as a disguise.
These “bone collectors” were discovered by Dr. David Rubinoff and team at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. This creepy crawler secretly eats leftovers from spiderwebs. To avoid detection, it disguises itself with the severed body parts discarded from the spider’s meal. How metal is that?
This species is endangered, so discovering it through all that camouflage is a massive win!
Talk about corpse couture!
Reference: Daniel Rubinoff et al., Hawaiian caterpillar patrols spiderwebs camouflaged in insect prey’s body parts. Science 388,428-430(2025). DOI:10.1126/science.ads4243