• casualSTEM
  • Posts
  • Hawaii’s Bone Collector Caterpillar Hunts and Wears Its Prey

Hawaii’s Bone Collector Caterpillar Hunts and Wears Its Prey

STEM Snacks

tilted Erlenmeyer flask logo, then "casualSTEM"

casualSTEM delivers brief and informative summaries of the latest science news every Saturday. Full of jokes, silly polls, and a cartoon!

Get the weekly email that explains science in sweatpants. Stay smart for free.

line divider
caterpillar costume

created by Steve Burgess w/ chatGPT

Carnivorous Caterpillars

Carnivorous caterpillars lurk between spider strands in Hawaii. The newly identified species disguises itself with spare body parts.

  • Species name = bone collector

  • Scavenges webs to craft the perfect cloak

  • Only found in the Wai'anae Mountains

Bone collectors grow solely from spidey leftovers before metamorphosing into an otherwise typical moth. Our time to enjoy/fear these mini-carnivores may be short lived as they appear close to extinction. No bones about it.

Catch-up on science in sweatpants

Reply

or to participate.