A couple of weeks ago, at the peak of Tiger Mountain, I saw this giant hairy caterpillar with a particularly strange green…fruit? coming out of it from the back.
I have read that green stuff coming out of caterpillars can be undigested vegetation, and it is used as some sort of natural defense. Is that what this might be in this instance?
Anyone have any ideas, or has seen this phenomenon before? No one around me has any clue.
Don’t touch it.
Seconded. The hairs on caterpillars may seem cute and all but they’re actually incredibly sharp and brittle needle that sticks into your skin then breaks off. They’re a natural defense against predators.
Meaning you get a nasty rash or infections from it.
My best guess would be it just freshly molted, and that’s the bunched up remainder of its old skin. Not unusual for it to be a starkly different (especially darker) color ¯_(ツ)_/¯
I can see that theory being potentially true. It was just so odd to me, it looked like some sort of berry or fruit attached to the back of it.
Nice DQ reference in your icon by the way. Really like that art style.
Yeah I certainly didn’t touch it. No chance.
I have seen a video about one type of caterpillar who uses the old molted portions of his head as a way to escape its predators. The predators go for his head (e.g. try to inject venom) but the old molted portions are not affected.
If you lick them you can get high.
