A carnivorous caterpillar shows a strange ritual as soon as the prey is dead. This species, which has just been discovered on the island of Hawaii and is known as Eupithecia SPP It has the peculiarity that a herb is made of low with the remains of his prey; This is how it covers Different parts of your body with this woven web with the body of other dead insects who have previously served as food.
In this way, this caterpillar that it has been destroyed as well as ‘The bone collector’ The camouflages between these remains to stalk other dams and feed it later. A diet that, where necessary, and if confirming researchers from the University of Hawaii, is careless and It feeds on bait around the spider web.
With this new types of caterpillar, DAR has taken more than 20 years of fieldwork. A finding that, as with many other species, can also mean the announcement of his early extinction since during these two decades of research Only 62 copies have been found.
A carnivorous caterpillar ‘dresses’ with the remains of their prey
A caterpillar Discovered in Hawaii lives in spider webs to eat and camouflage with remains of his prey. The ‘bone collector’ has nicknamed her. “We don’t know anyone in the world who shows this macabre behavior. We believe that eThis way of acting has evolved because it is meaty And it feeds on bait in and around the spider webs, “says Michael San José, co -author of the study at the University of Hawaii in Mānoa.
This endemic species on the mountain slope on the island of Oahu is in one Geographical insulation environment of the islands of HawáI, who has also led to other invertebrates in a unique way, such as the type of Hawaiian carnivoor caterpillar Eupithecia SPP. and the already known E. Orichloris, E. Staurophragma and E. scorm periods.
However, the way of acting of this new species is quite rare, especially because the vast majority of Lepidoptera are herbivores. Representive caterpillars Only 0.1 % of the mottle species and butterflies that are known today.
A death camouflage for this carnivorous caterpillar
The team of three scientists from the Hawaiian university described in the magazine science on the new species of caterpillar Predator, they discovered it in spider webs from the holes of trees and rocks.
“Our theory is that these parts of dead bodies that were held as packaging they use to hide from spiders. Caterpillars and Spider Bone Collection are only remains of earlier dams, and ignores them,” the researcher explains.
The camouflage is no coincidence. They carefully decorate this portable cover with parts of the insect body, select, dimension and carefully fit all parties to prevent them from being detected.
They belong to the genus hyposmocoma, an old and diverse group of moths that are only found in Hawaii. They are scavengers and opportunistic predators of closed spider webs, where they consume weakened or dead insects. They can also occasionally cannibalize each other.
Extremely rare and danger of extinction
The finding of this caterpillar, as with many other species, can also mean the announcement of the early extinction since then Only 62 people have been observed in more than 20 years of fieldwork. However, this elusive species is probably 5 million years older than the oldest island in Hawaii and survives in a small country of only 15 square kilometers of Bergbos in Oahu.
“We sequence the taken of these caterpillars and other closely related species, and have derived a dated phylogenic. For this we use data from a previous study on the evolution of all lepidoptera. Through this phylogenie we conclude that the origin of bone collection prior to the formation of the island of Kauai, says San José.
Capital of invasive species
Hawaii is considered the world capital of invasive species, which leads to many indigenous species to extinction. “There are not -ineem plants such as strawberry, albizia and the ginger of Himalayas, as well as Asilvarked Ungulates such as goats and pigs, which are very destructive for native forests,” says the expert.
This caterpillar has adapted not to use -ineemse spider guests, but the extreme rarity and the small area that inhabits make it susceptible to many threats of incurring predators and habitat loss.
“There are two main steps that can help not only prevent this kind of extinction, but also of many other natives. One would be to limit the effects of climate change. This bone collector is at a very specific point and a rise of temperature will probably reduce his habitat even more. The second would be caused by the damage caused.
The authors predict that, without specific conservation efforts, This last living representative of an old origin of carnivorous caterpillars can disappear. “The indigenous insects, including this caterpillar, will be lost as the native forests disappear. The spread of invasive plants prevent and the population of Asshed -not reducing guilders can help protect many species against extinction,” concludes San José.