Larva Life Moth caterpillars don’t look anything like the moths they will become. T ey look a bit like worms with feet. Yet they are not worms. T ey’re larvae, or the young form of some kinds of animals. Like worms, though, they are near


the bottom of the food web. Many other animals eat them. So life for caterpillars is full of danger. Don’t worry that they’re helpless, though. Far from it. T eir defenses are one of the coolest things about them.


This caterpillar mimics a snake.


Masters of Disguise Some caterpillars look like twigs or moss. It’s hard to find them. I doubt hungry animals think a “twig” looks like a super snack. Other caterpillars look scary. T ey look like predators, not prey. On one caterpillar hunting trip, I found


a hawk moth caterpillar. It didn’t look like much. I poked it and it hid its head. Suddenly, the rest of its front end puff ed out. It looked like the head of a poisonous snake ready to attack me. I knew it was a trick but it still startled me. On another trip, I found a big, hairy,


orange spider. Whoa! It wasn’t a spider at all. It was a monkey slug caterpillar. Hairy “legs” sprouted from its body. If its looks don’t scare predators, it has another defense. A “leg” will fall off if a predator snatches it. T e rest of the caterpillar crawls away.


The sharp spines on this slug caterpillar sting.


6 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXTREME EXPLORER


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