Hawaiian caterpillars hunt like spiders -report

[Eugene]

Hawaiian caterpillars hunt like spiders -report

Thu Jul 21, 2:03 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tiny, snail-eating caterpillars found in
Hawaiian rain forests tie up their prey with sticky silk and snack
on them at leisure, surprised scientists said on Thursday.

It is the first time that caterpillars that eat snails or any other
mollusk have been found, the researchers write in Friday's issue of
the journal Science.

And while caterpillars of all kinds spin silk to make cocoons, this
is the first time one has been seen to use it as spiders do to
capture prey.

<snip>

The caterpillars of the newly described species, Hyposmocoma
molluscivora, are small -- about a third of an inch (8 mm) long.
Wrapped in their cocoons, they "lumber along" leaves, Rubinoff and
Haines said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/caterpillar_dc

[xchrom]

1. yikes.

not how i like to think about caterpillars.

like mother nature cares what i think.

[DavidDvorkin]

2. Nature red in tooth and claw

Or whatever the equivalent would be for caterpillars.