Tuesday, June 9, 2015

The Caterpillar with Penguins on Its Back

If you look at the caterpillar of the forest tent caterpillar moth (Malacosoma disstria) with a little imagination you can see something remarkable. Found throughout North America, along the top of this caterpillar is ranged a set of what looks like dancing penguins.
This is of course one of nature's inadvertent acts of mimicry. It is a warning sign to predators that the caterpillar will not taste especially nice. Its penguin shape is coincidental but nevertheless entertaining and perhaps even charming to us.

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