NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Caterpillar

A caterpillar is the larval form of a member of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). They are mostly phytophagous in food habit, with some species being entomophagous. They grow through a series of moults and each intermediate stage is called an instar. They are voracious feeders and many of them are considered pests in agriculture. Many moth species are better known in their caterpillar stages because of the damage they cause to fruits and other agricultural produce. Caterpillar Inc. ... Caterpillar may refer to the following albums: Caterpillar (Elisa album) Caterpillar (Tokey Tones album) Category: ... Caterpillar using a hookah; an illustration by John Tenniel The Caterpillar is a fictional character appearing in Lewis Carrolls book, Alices Adventures in Wonderland. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 533 pixelsFull resolution (4368 Ã— 2912 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 533 pixelsFull resolution (4368 Ã— 2912 pixel, file size: 1. ... Download high resolution version (800x625, 141 KB)The Emperor Gum Moth caterpillar at the 5th development stage, distinguished from 4th stage by its green underside Taken by fir0002 File links The following pages link to this file: Caterpillar Wikipedia:Featured pictures candidates/January-2005 Emperor Gum Moth Wikipedia:Featured picture... Download high resolution version (800x625, 141 KB)The Emperor Gum Moth caterpillar at the 5th development stage, distinguished from 4th stage by its green underside Taken by fir0002 File links The following pages link to this file: Caterpillar Wikipedia:Featured pictures candidates/January-2005 Emperor Gum Moth Wikipedia:Featured picture... The Emperor Gum Moth (Opodiphthera eucalypti) is a species native to Australia, and can be easily found in all the states except for Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania. ... A larval insect A larva (Latin; plural larvae) is a juvenile form of animal with indirect development, undergoing metamorphosis (for example, insects or amphibians). ... In scientific classification used in biology, the order (Latin: ordo, plural ordines) is a rank between class and family (termed a taxon at that rank). ... The order Lepidoptera is the second most speciose order in the class Insecta and includes the butterflies, moths and skippers. ... Orders Subclass Apterygota Archaeognatha (bristletails) Thysanura (silverfish) Monura - extinct Subclass Pterygota Infraclass Paleoptera (may be paraphyletic) Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Palaeodictyoptera - extinct Megasecoptera - extinct Archodonata - extinct Diaphanopterodea - extinct Protodonata - extinct Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Infraclass Neoptera Superorder Exopterygota Caloneurodea - extinct Titanoptera - extinct Protorthoptera - extinct Grylloblattodea (ice-crawlers) Mantophasmatodea (gladiators) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Embioptera... Superfamilies and families Superfamily Hedyloidea: Hedylidae Superfamily Hesperioidea: Hesperiidae Superfamily Papilionoidea: Papilionidae Pieridae Nymphalidae Lycaenidae Riodinidae A butterfly is an insect of the order Lepidoptora. ... A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly. ... Phagy or phagia is an ecological term that is used to identify particular nutritional systems. ... Entomophagy is the habit of eating insects as food. ... Ecdysis is the molting of the cuticula in arthropods and related groups (Ecdysozoa). ... An instar is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each molt. ... Carpet beetle larvae damaging a specimen of Sceliphron destillatorius in an entomological collection A pest is an organism which has characteristics that are regarded as injurious or unwanted. ... The hierarchy of scientific classification. ...

[edit] Morphology

Most caterpillars have tubular, segmented bodies. They have three pairs of true legs on the three thoracic segments, up to four pairs of prolegs on the middle segments of the abdomen, and often a single pair of prolegs on the last abdominal segment. There are ten abdominal segments. The families of lepidoptera differ in the numbers and positioning of the prolegs. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (828x468, 25 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Caterpillar ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (828x468, 25 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Caterpillar ... Binomial name Papilio polyxenes Fabricius, 1775 The Black Swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes, is a butterfly found throughout much of North America. ... â€œHuman Headâ€ redirects here. ... Diagram of a tsetse fly, showing the head, thorax and abdomen The thorax is a division of an animals body that lies between the head and the abdomen. ... The abdomen is a part of the body. ... Spiracles are small openings on the surface of animals that usually lead to respiratory systems. ... Prolegs are the fleshy, stubby little structures found on the ventral surface of the abdomen of most larval forms of insects of the Order Lepidoptera, though they can also be found on other larval insects such as sawflies and a few types of flies. ... Prolegs are the fleshy, stubby little structures found on the ventral surface of the abdomen of most larval forms of insects of the Order Lepidoptera, though they can also be found on other larval insects such as sawflies and a few types of flies. ... Morphogenesis (from the Greek morphÃª shape and genesis creation) is one of three fundamental aspects of developmental biology along with the control of cell growth and cellular differentiation. ... Insects display a wide variety of antennal shapes. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 452 Ã— 599 pixelsFull resolution (1546 Ã— 2048 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 452 Ã— 599 pixelsFull resolution (1546 Ã— 2048 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2304 Ã— 1728 pixel, file size: 1,005 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Actias selene 5th instar raised on American Sweetgum. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2304 Ã— 1728 pixel, file size: 1,005 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Actias selene 5th instar raised on American Sweetgum. ... Binomial name Actias selene (HÃ¼bner, 1807) The Indian Moon Moth or Indian Luna Moth (Actias selene) is a species of moth. ... Spiracles are small openings on the surface of animals that usually lead to respiratory systems. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... The abdomen is a part of the body. ...

The geometrids, also known as inchworms or loopers, are so named because of the way they locomote, appearing to measure the earth (the word geometrid means earth-measurer in Greek); the primary reason for this unusual locomotion is the elimination of nearly all the prolegs except the clasper on the terminal segment. Caterpillars have soft bodies that can grow rapidly, like balloons, between moults. Only the head capsule is hardened. In caterpillars, the mandibles are tough and sharp for chewing leaves; in most adult Lepidoptera, the mandibles are highly reduced, or soft. Behind the mandibles of the caterpillar are the spinnerets, for manipulating silk. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 Ã— 1536 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 Ã— 1536 pixel, file size: 1. ... Author: Leach, 1815 Type species: Geometra papilionaria (large emerald moth) Diversity: 2,000? genera 26,000 species Subfamilies Alsophilinae Archiearinae Desmobathrinae Ennominae Geometrinae Larentiinae Oenochrominae Orthostixinae Sterrhinae Genera Geometra (etc) Inchworm redirects here. ... Author: Leach, 1815 Type species: Geometra papilionaria (large emerald moth) Diversity: 2,000? genera 26,000 species Subfamilies Alsophilinae Archiearinae Desmobathrinae Ennominae Geometrinae Larentiinae Oenochrominae Orthostixinae Sterrhinae Genera Geometra (etc) Inchworm redirects here. ... The mandible (from Latin mandibÅla, jawbone) or inferior maxillary bone is, together with the maxilla, the largest and strongest bone of the face. ... A spinneret is a spiders silk spinning organ. ...

Some larvae of the Hymenoptera (ants, bees and wasps) order can appear like the caterpillars of the lepidoptera. These are mainly seen in the Sawfly family and while the larvae superficially resemble caterpillars, they can be distinguished by the presence of prolegs on every abdominal segment. Another difference is that lepidopteran caterpillars have crochets or hooks on the prolegs while these are absent on the sawfly larvae. Also in lepidopteran caterpillars is the upside down Y shaped suture on the front of the head.^[1] The larvae of sawflies differ also in having prominent ocelli on the head capsule. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1311x874, 254 KB) Close-up of a caterpillars face, taken in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on 20 August 2006. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1311x874, 254 KB) Close-up of a caterpillars face, taken in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on 20 August 2006. ... Suborders Apocrita Symphyta Hymenoptera is one of the larger orders of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. ... Superfamilies and families Superfamily Cephoidea Family Cephidae (stem sawflies) Superfamily Megalodontoidea Family Megalodontesidae Family Pamphiliidae (leaf-rolling & web-spinning sawflies) Superfamily Orussoidea Family Orussidae (parasitic wood wasps) Superfamily Siricoidea Family Anaxyelidae (cedar wood wasps) Family Siricidae (horntails) Superfamily Tenthredinoidea Family Argidae (argid sawflies) Family Blasticotomidae (fern sawflies) Family Cimbicidae (cimbicid... It has been suggested that suture material be merged into this article or section. ... Ocelli is one of the types of photoreceptor organs in animals. ...

Like all insects, caterpillars breathe through a series of small openings along the sides of their thorax and abdomen called spiracles. These branch into the body cavity into a network of tracheae. Spiracles are small openings on the surface of animals that usually lead to respiratory systems. ...

Caterpillars have 4,000 muscles (the human being has only 629!). They move through contraction of the muscles in the rear segments pushing the blood forward into the front segments elongating the torso. The average caterpillar has 248 muscles in the head segment alone.

Caterpillars do not have good vision. They have a series of six tiny eyelets or 'stemmata' on each side of the lower portion of their head. These can probably form well focused, but poorly resolved images.^[1] They move their heads from side to side probably as a means of judging distance of objects, particularly plants. They rely on their short antennae to help them locate food. A stemma (plural stemmata) is a simple eye which is only capable of detecting light. ... Insects display a wide variety of antennal shapes. ...

Some caterpillars are able to detect vibrations, usually at a highly specific frequency. Caterpillars of the common hook-tip moth, Drepana arcuata (Drepanoidea) produce sounds to defend their silk nests from members of their own species,^[2] by scraping against the leaf in a ritualized acoustic duel. They detect the vibrations conducted by the plant and not air-borne sounds. Similarly, cherry leaf rollers Caloptilia serotinella defend their rolls.^[3] Tent caterpillars can also detect vibrations at the frequency of wing beats of one of their natural enemies. ^[4]

[edit] Defense

Many species of animals feed on caterpillars as they are protein rich, and caterpillars in turn have evolved various defenses. Some caterpillars have large false eyes towards the rear of their abdomen. This helps convince predators that their back is actually their front, giving them an opportunity to escape when attacked. Others have a body coloration that closely resembles their food plant, or common objects in the environment, such as bird droppings or twigs. Many feed in leaf mines, ties, rolls or silk galleries. Others will use startle or intimidation, with the sudden presentation of eyespots or snake mimicry. Some species use a silk line and drop off the branches when disturbed. Some caterpillars will regurgitate acidic digestive juices at attacking enemies. Many papilionid larvae produce bad smells from extrudable glands called osmeteria. An ocellus (plural: ocelli) is a type of photoreceptor organ in animals. ... Plate from Henry Walter Bates (1862) illustrating Batesian mimicry between Dismorphia species (top row, third row) and various Ithomiini (Nymphalidae) (second row, bottom row). ... Author: Latreille, 1802 Type species: Papilio machaon (Common Yellow Swallowtail) Diversity: 26 genera 605 species Genera Subfamily Baroniinae Baronia Subfamily Parnassiinae Archon Hypermnestra Parnassus Luehdorfia Bhutantis Alancastria Serecinus Subfamily Papilioninae Eurytides Graphium Iphiclides Lamproptera Mimoides Protesilaus Protographium Teinopalpus Atrophaneura Battus Byasa Cressida Euryades Losaria Ornithoptera Pachliopta Parides Pharmacophagus Trogonoptera Troides...

More aggressive self-defense measures are taken by hairy caterpillars. These caterpillars have spiny bristles or long fine hair-like setae with detachable tips that will irritate by lodging in the skin or mucous membranes.^[1] However, some birds, like cuckoos, will swallow even the hairiest of caterpillars. The most aggressive defenses are those of the many caterpillars that have bristles associated with venom glands, called urticating hairs, and one of these is among the most potent defensive chemicals in any animals is produced by the South American silk moth genus Lonomia. The defensive chemical is an anticoagulant of such potency that it can kill a human, causing them to hemorrhage to death (See Lonomiasis).^[5] This chemical is being investigated for potential medical applications. Most urticating hairs however range in effect from mild irritation to dermatitis. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1003x668, 140 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Caterpillar Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1003x668, 140 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Caterpillar Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create... Look up seta in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Genera See text. ... Wasp sting, with droplet of venom Venom (literally, poison of animal origin) is any of a variety of toxins used by animals, for the purpose of defense and hunting. ... Urtication, or flogging with nettles, is the process of deliberately applying stinging nettles to the skin in order to provoke inflammation or rash. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Subfamilies Arsenurinae Ceratocampinae Hemileucinae Agliinae Ludiinae Salassinae Saturniinae The Saturniidae, collectively known as saturniids, are among the largest and most spectacular of the lepidoptera, with an estimated 1,200 to 1,500 different species existing worldwide. ... Species Lonomia obliqua Walker, 1855 many others The genus Lonomia is a moderate-sized group of fairly cryptic saturniid moths from South America, famous not for the adults, but for their amazingly venomous caterpillars, which are responsible for a few deaths each year, especially in southern Brazil, and the subject... An anticoagulant is a substance that prevents coagulation; that is, it stops blood from clotting. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Species Lonomia obliqua Walker, 1855 many others The genus Lonomia is a moderate-sized group of fairly cryptic saturniid moths from South America, famous not for the adults, but for their amazingly venomous caterpillars, which are responsible for a few deaths each year, especially in southern Brazil, and the subject... Dermatitis is a blanket term literally meaning inflammation of the skin. It is usually used to refer to eczema, which is also known as Dermatitis eczema. ...

Some caterpillars eat the leaves of plants that are toxic to other animals. They are unaffected by the poison themselves, but it is sequestered in their body, making them highly toxic. These chemicals are also carried on into the adult stages. These toxic species, such as the Cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae) and monarch (Danaus plexippus) caterpillars, are usually advertised with brightly striped or coloured in black, red and yellow—the danger colours (see aposematism). The aim of all these aggressive defense measures is to assure that any predator that eats (or tries to eat) one of them will learn and avoid future attempts. Toxic redirects here, but this is also the name of a song by Britney Spears; see Toxic (song) Look up toxic and toxicity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Sequestration, the act of removing, separating or seizing anything from the possession of its owner, particularly in law, of the taking possession of property under process of law for the benefit of creditors or the state. ... Binomial name Tyria jacobaeae Linnaeus, 1748 The Cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae) is a brightly coloured arctiid moth, found in Europe and western and central Asia. ... Binomial name Danaus plexippus (Linnaeus, 1758) The Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a well-known American butterfly. ... The bright colours of this Yellow-winged Darter dragonfly serve as a warning to predators of its noxious taste. ...

Some caterpillars obtain protection by associating themselves with ants. The Lycaenid butterflies are particularly well known for this. They communicate with their ant protectors by vibrations as well as chemical means ^[6] and typically provide food rewards. Image File history File linksMetadata Lycaenid_ant_sec. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Lycaenid_ant_sec. ... Subfamilies Lycaeninae- Coppers Miletinae- Harvesters Polyommatinae- Blues Theclinae- Hairstreaks, Elfins The Lycaenidae or copper butterfly are a large family of butterflies, also known as the Gossamer-winged butterflies. ... Subfamilies Aenictogitoninae Agroecomyrmecinae Amblyoponinae (incl. ... Subfamilies Lycaeninae- Coppers Miletinae- Harvesters Polyommatinae- Blues Theclinae- Hairstreaks, Elfins The Lycaenidae or copper butterfly are a large family of butterflies, also known as the Gossamer-winged butterflies. ...

Some caterpillars are gregarious and such aggregations are believed to help in reducing the levels of parasitization and predation.^[7] Clusters amplify the signal of aposematic coloration, and individuals may participate in group regurgitation or displays.

[edit] Behavior

Caterpillars have rightly been called eating machines. They eat leaves voraciously, shed their skins generally four or five times, and eventually pupate into an adult form. Measured by weight increase, caterpillars have a very fast growth rate. For instance, a tobacco hornworm will increase its own weight ten thousand times in less than twenty days. One of their adaptations that enables them to eat this much is a mechanism in a specialized midgut which transports ions at a very high rate to the lumen (midgut cavity), to keep the potassium level higher in the midgut cavity than in the blood.^[8] Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1554x2331, 1445 KB) Reason for deletion request: Plate 13 from Insects, their way and means of living, R. E. Snodgrass. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1554x2331, 1445 KB) Reason for deletion request: Plate 13 from Insects, their way and means of living, R. E. Snodgrass. ... Beyond overall skin structure, refer below to: See-also. ... Cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha) pupa Chrysalis redirects here: for other meanings see Chrysalis (disambiguation). ...

Caterpillars are predominantly herbivores: 99% of species feed on plants. A few feed on detritus including the clothes moth. Of those that are predatory, most feed on eggs of other insects, aphids, scale insects, or ant larvae. Some are cannibals, and others prey on caterpillars of other species (e.g. Hawai'ian Eupithecia ). A few are parasitic on cicadas or leaf hoppers.^[9] A deer and two fawns feeding on some foliage A herbivore is often defined as any organism that eats only plants[1]. By that definition, many fungi, some bacteria, many animals, about 1% of flowering plants and some protists can be considered herbivores. ... Detritus may refer to: In geology, detritus is the name for loose fragments of rock that have been worn away by erosion. ... Eupithecia is a large genus of moths of the family Geometridae. ...

Some Hawai'ian caterpillars (Hyposmocoma molluscivora) use silk traps to capture snails.^[10] Binomial name Hyposmocoma molluscivora (Rubinoff, 2005) The Snail Eating Caterpillar, Hyposmocoma molluscivora, is a Hawaiian moth whose larvae are predators, capturing snails in their silk, much like a hunting spiders web, and then crawling inside the snails shell to eat it alive. ...

Many caterpillars are nocturnal. For example, the notorious "cutworms" (of the Noctuidae family) hide at the base of the plant during the day and only feed at night. Others, such as gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) larvae, change their activity patterns depending on density and larval stage, with more diurnal feeding in early instars and high densities. Diversity 4,200 genera 35,000 species Type Species Noctua pronuba (Large Yellow Underwing) Subfamilies Acontiinae Acronictinae Aganainae Agaristinae Amphipyrinae Amphipyrinae Bagisarinae Bryophilinae Calpinae Catocalinae Cocytiinae Condicinae Cuculliinae Dilobinae Eucocytiinae Eustrotiinae Euteliinae Glottulinae Hadeninae Heliothinae Herminiinae Hypeninae Ipimorphinae Noctuinae Plusiinae Psaphidinae Raphiinae Stictopterinae Stiriinae Strepsimaninae Ufeinae The Noctuidae or Owlets... Binomial name Lymantria dispar Linnaeus, 1758 This article deals with the moth Lymantria dispar. ...

[edit] Economic importance

Caterpillars are of immense economic importance. They can both cause damage and help in production.the caterpillar maily destroys leaves. The silkworm is a caterpillar which has spawned an entire industry. Species like the Cotton bollworm are known to cause enormous losses to farmers. They have been the target of pest control through the use of pesticides, biological control and agronomic practices. Many species have become resistant to pesticides. Bacterial toxins such as those from Bacillus thuringiensis which are evolved to affect the gut of lepidoptera have been used in sprays of bacterial spores, toxin extracts and also by incorporating genes to produce them within the host plants. These approaches are defeated over time by the evolution of resistance mechanisms in the caterpillar targets. Binomial name Bombyx mori Linnaeus, 1758 â€œSilkwormâ€ redirects here. ... A cotton bollworm is a common term for any larva of a moth that attacks the fruiting bodies of the cotton plant. ... This is a disambiguation. ... A cropduster spreading pesticide. ... Biological control of pests and diseases Overview A key belief of the organic gardener is that diversity furthers health. ... Agronomy is a branch of agricultural science that deals with the study of crops and the soils in which they grow. ... A cropduster spreading pesticide. ... Binomial name Berliner 1915 Bacillus thuringiensis is a Gram-positive, soil dwelling bacterium of the genus Bacillus. ...

Host plants themselves evolve mechanisms of resistance to herbivory by caterpillars and these include the evolution of chemical toxins and physical barriers such as hairs. Incorporating host plant resistance (HPR) through plant breeding is another approach used in reducing the impact of caterpillars on crop plants. Plants have evolved an enormous array of mechanical and chemical defenses against the animals that eat them. ...

They don't only help humans. Caterpillars are also prey to many insects. Just in general if you were to remove any animal from the eco-system, many others would suffer.

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b ^c Scoble, MJ. 1995. The Lepidoptera: Form, function and diversity. Oxford Univ. Press.
^ Yack JE, Smith ML, and Weatherhead PJ. 2001. Caterpillar talk: Acoustically mediated territoriality in larval Lepidoptera. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 98 (20): 11371–11375.
^ Fletcher LE, Yack JE, Fitzgerald TD, Hoy RR . 2006. Vibrational communication in the cherry leaf roller caterpillar Caloptilia serotinella (Gracillarioidea : Gracillariidae). Journal of Insect Behavior 19 (1): 1–18.
^ Fitgerald, TD. 1995. The tent caterpillars. Cornell Univ. Press.
^ Malaque, Ceila M. S., Lúcia Andrade, Geraldine Madalosso, Sandra Tomy, Flávio L. Tavares, And Antonio C. Seguro. 2006. A case of hemolysis resulting from contact with a Lonomia caterpillar in southern Brazil. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 74(5): 807-809
^ Travassos, MA, and NE Pierce. 2000. Acoustics, context and function of vibrational signalling in a lycaenid butterfly–ant mutualism. Animal Behaviour 60: 13-26
^ Entry, Grant L. G., Lee A. Dyer. 2002. On the Conditional Nature Of Neotropical Caterpillar Defenses against their Natural Enemies. Ecology, 83(11):3108–3119
^ Chamberlin, M.E. and M.E. King (1998). Changes in midgut active ion transport and metabolism during the fifth instar of the tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta). J.Exp.Zool. 280:135-141.
^ Pierce, N.E. 1995. Predatory and parasitic Lepidoptera: Carnivores living on plants. Journal of the Lepidopterist's Society 49 (4): 412-453
^ Rubinoff, Daniel and William P. Haines. 2005. Web-Spinning Caterpillar Stalks Snails. Science 309(5734): 575. DOI: 10.1126/science.1110397

[edit] See also

Caterpillar tracks are large (modular) tracks used on tanks, construction equipment and certain other off-road vehicles. ... Roses are susceptible to a number of pests, diseases and disorders. ...

Encyclopedia > Caterpillar

Contents