Caterpillar Panorama
by Lisa Wooten
Title
Caterpillar Panorama
Artist
Lisa Wooten
Medium
Photograph - Photographs
Description
Caterpillars /ˈkætərˌpɪlər/ are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary and the larvae of sawflies commonly are called caterpillars as well.[1][2] Both lepidopteran and symphytan larvae have eruciform body shapes.
Caterpillars of most species are herbivorous, but not all; some (about 1%) are insectivorous, even cannibalistic. Some feed on other animal products; for example clothes moths feed on wool, and horn moths feed on the hooves and horns of dead ungulates.
Caterpillars are typically voracious feeders and many of them are among the most serious of agricultural pests. In fact many moth species are best known in their caterpillar stages because of the damage they cause to fruits and other agricultural produce, whereas the moths are obscure and do no direct harm. Conversely, various species of caterpillar are valued as sources of silk, as human or animal food, or for biological control of pest plants.
Description
Caterpillars have soft bodies that can grow rapidly between moults. Their size varies between species and instars (moults) from as small as 1 mm up to 14 cm.[5] Some larvae of the order Hymenoptera (ants, bees and wasps) can appear like the caterpillars of the Lepidoptera. Such larvae are mainly seen in the sawfly suborder. However while these larvae superficially resemble caterpillars, they can be distinguished by the presence of prolegs on every abdominal segment, an absence of crochets or hooks on the prolegs (these are present on lepidopteran caterpillars), one pair of prominent ocelli on the head capsule, and an absence of the upside-down Y-shaped suture on the front of the head.[6]
Lepidopteran caterpillars can be differentiated from sawfly larvae by:
the numbers of pairs of pro-legs; sawfly larvae have 6 or more pairs while caterpillars have a maximum of 5 pairs.
the number of stemmata (simple eyes); the sawfly larvae have only two, while caterpillars usually have six.
the presence of crochets on the prolegs; these are absent in the sawflies.
sawfly larvae have an invariably smooth head capsule with no cleavage lines, while lepidopterous caterpillars bear an inverted "Y" or "V" (adfrontal suture). Wikipedia
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September 15th, 2018
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