“`html
Carcass collector casings. The silky structures are “adorned” with the remnants of prior sustenance, containing insect wing coverings, formicid heads, curculio snouts, and scolytid abdomens. (Image credit: Rubinoff lab, Entomology Section, University of Hawaii, Manoa)ShareShare by:
- Copy link
- X
Share this article 0Join the conversationFollow usAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleNewsletterSubscribe to our newsletterQUICK FACTS
Name: Carcass collector larva
Where it dwells: In spiderwebs across a solitary mountain chain on Oahu, Hawaii
What it consumes: Diptera, weevils, bark beetles, ants or any arthropod snagged in a spider’s web
The carcass collector is more than simply a very famished caterpillar — it exhibits a craving for meat. And after it concludes foraging on perished or declining bugs caught within a spider’s web, the carcass collector shields itself utilizing the legs, wings or heads of its quarry for disguise to thwart being devoured.
The carcass collector constitutes a segment of the genus Hyposmocoma, diminutive moths inhabiting Hawaii and distinguished for knitting transportable silk repositories. While other variants could adorn their havens with specks of algae or lichen to impersonate tree bark, for instance, no other recognized Hyposmocoma species acknowledges stray bug physical fragments and affixes these to its enclosure.
You may like
-
Diminutive spiders constructing monumental ‘puppet’ counterfeits from dismembered prey unearthed within Peru and Philippines
-
World’s greatest spiderweb discovered within ‘Sulfur Cave’ hosting 111,000 arachnids existing in utter darkness
-
Primeval burrowing bees constructed their lairs within the dental hollows and vertebrae of expired rodents, scientists find
The species evolved at minimum 6 million years ago, according to the researchers, rendering it more ancient than the island of Oahu. This implies carcass collector moths emigrated from an even earlier Hawaiian island that has since vanished to arrive at their ongoing forest.
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Rubinoff lab, Entomology Section, University of Hawaii, Manoa )
A carcass collector larva beside a non-native spider together with its egg casing.
(Image credit: Rubinoff lab, Entomology Section, University of Hawaii, Manoa )
An adult female carcass collector moth.
Flesh-eating caterpillars are quite uncommon. They constitute roughly 0.13% of the world’s moth and butterfly species, yet the carcass collector, particularly, is notably scarce — following more than two decades of exploration, researchers have encountered merely 62 examples.
Concerning survival, the carcass collectors are not enhancing their predicament. They exhibit territoriality, and normally only a singular larva is located on one spiderweb due to their inclination to devour the competition.
Related stories
—American burying beetle: The flesh-devouring bug that inters cadavers for its offspring to gorge upon
—Gum leaf skeletonizer: The toxic ‘Mad Hatterpillar’ that dons its discarded heads akin to a crown
—’A relationship that could horrify Darwin’: Mindy Weisberger on the skin-crawling reality of insect zombification
Mercifully for us, the carcass collector larva attains a length of only about a quarter of an inch (5 millimeters).
“ I possess no uncertainty that assuming we matched their dimension, they would consume us,” Daniel Rubinoff, principal author of the study and an entomologist at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, conveyed to Live Science. “There exists no likelihood that they might solely consume insects. That occurs to constitute their battling category, thus to speak.”
TOPICSamazing animals
Jesse SteinmetzLive Science Contributor
Jesse Steinmetz is a freelance reporter and public radio producer based in Massachusetts. His stories have covered everything from seaweed farmers to a minimalist smartphone company to the big business of online scammers and much more. His work has appeared in Inc. Magazine, Duolingo, CommonWealth Beacon, and the NPR affiliates GBH, WFAE and Connecticut Public, among other outlets. He holds a bachelors of arts degree in English at Hampshire College and another in music at Eastern Connecticut State University. When he isn’t reporting, you can probably find him biking around Boston.
Show More Comments
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
LogoutRead more
Diminutive spiders constructing monumental ‘puppet’ counterfeits from dismembered prey unearthed within Peru and Philippines
World’s greatest spiderweb discovered within ‘Sulfur Cave’ hosting 111,000 arachnids existing in utter darkness
Primeval burrowing bees constructed their lairs within the dental hollows and vertebrae of expired rodents, scientists find
How did metamorphosis evolve?
Giant North American ‘hell pigs’ could crunch bones like lions 30 million years ago, tooth analysis reveals
A looming ‘insect apocalypse’ could endanger global food supplies. Can we stop it before it’s too late?
Latest in Insects
‘Nothing but a nightmare’: Worker ants are tricked into murdering their mom by an imposter queen — who quickly takes the throne for herself
A looming ‘insect apocalypse’ could endanger global food supplies. Can we stop it before it’s too late?
How did metamorphosis evolve?