Hawaii's 'bone collector' caterpillar wears the body parts of dead prey

In a remote and lushly forested area of a single mountain range on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, scientists have discovered a carnivorous caterpillar species that makes a living in such a macabre way that they have nicknamed it the "bone collector".The caterpillar prowls spider webs to scavenge trapped and helpless victims such as ants, beetles, weevils and flies, the researchers said. The crafty caterpillar camouflages itself from the spider, which would happily eat it, by hiding its body inside a case it fashions from its own silk and adorns it with inedible body parts that it collected from the dead insects.Through metamorphosis, this caterpillar eventually turns into its adult form, a moth with a brown and white colouration. Caterpillars are the moth's larval stage, with a segmented and worm-like body.This is the world's only known caterpillar to live with and benefit from spiders, according to Daniel Rubinoff, a professor of entomology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and lead author of the study published this week in the journal Science.Its grisly behaviour would seem well suited for a crime novel. But it represents an example of the creative paths that our planet's living organisms take to survive and thrive."They need to hide in a tapestry of bug parts to stay alive in the spider's lair," Rubinoff said."I think it's actually a hero," Rubinoff said. "It truly lives 'in the lion's den', hiding out with a spider and using the spider's web to provide it with food and probably shelter. The caterpillar will attack prey that can't get away but is itself very slow and bumbling, trailing a large (silk) case behind it."Hero The caterpillars consume weakened or dead insects they encounter in webs spun by spiders in tree hollows and rock crevices."So it's probably getting the leftovers after the spider has fed," Rubinoff said.They even resort to cannibalism, attacking other caterpillars of the same species.The 'Bone Collector' was the nickname of a serial killer in author Jeffery Deaver's 1997 novel and subsequent 1999 film of the same name."I think the term is out there in the ether, and just fit with what these caterpillars are doing. It's a bit tongue in cheek because arthropods don't actually have bones," Rubinoff said.

Hawaii's 'bone collector' caterpillar wears the body parts of dead prey

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-29

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Hawaii's 'bone collector' caterpillar wears the body parts of dead prey

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-29

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