Chances are you are familiar with the pokemon called caterpillar. If not... it's a character from a video game and it looks something like this:
So, my first born loves insects, worms and everything else small and disgusting, with caterpillars being amongst his favorite critters. Maybe it's just a natural thing for his age. Or maybe he took from his father. _
Unfortunately we don't have many caterpillars here around this time of the year, so I will indulge him some screen time every day, dedicated to caterpillars and how they turn into butterflies. He just finds the process so fascinating 馃槃 And from a biological aspect it is.
Anyways, one of the videos we watched today was about tiger swallowtail caterpillars..Which looks exactly like the Caterpie pokemon, lmao.
Funny how I know about the pokemon for about 25 years now, yet I only learnt about its real life counterpart just today 馃槀
It even has that forked like thingie which is called osmeterium. This is a retractable organ that comes out when the caterpillar feels threatened. It actually has a double role.
First, it looks a bit like the tongue of a snake and along with the fake eyes on the top it more then enough to scare some predators. A great example of mimicry :)
And if that's not enough, the osmeterium also releases chemicals, called terpenes, that deters certain groups predators.
Interestingly, most humans find this odor strong yet pleasant!
The osmeterium is a defensive organ found in all papilionid larvae, in all stages. The organ is situated in the prothoracic segment and can be everted when the larva feels threatened. The everted organ resembles a fleshy forked tongue (not unlike a snake tongue), and this along with the large eye-like spots on the body might be used to startle birds and small reptiles. The osmeterial organ remains inside the body in the thoracic region in an inverted position and is everted when the larva is disturbed in any way emitting a foul, disagreeable odor which serves to repel ants, small spiders[3] and mantids. To humans, this odour is rather strong but pleasant, usually smelling like a concentrated scent of the caterpillar's food plant and pineapple. source and further reading
Osmeterium of Papilio xuthus Larva source
And here's a quick video showing the osmeterium in action
Ok friends, hope you learnt something new and interesting! I know I did! As always, feel free to click any of the links above for further reading!