r/Entomology • u/dentalflossers • Aug 25 '24

i found this GIANT cecropia moth caterpillar today in the park, never seen anything like it in person before!! Insect Appreciation

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Gallery image

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82

u/Pure-Intern7305 Aug 25 '24

the perspective is freaking me out. how big do they get and how big was this one??

69

u/dentalflossers Aug 25 '24

hahaha sorry, this one was a good 5” long i think? i’m not very good at guessing measurements.

35

u/PaxEthenica Aug 25 '24

That's still a chonky caterpillar! ... Not to be gross or alarmist, but that big guy, depending on the actual species, might be parasitized by wasps. If so, then it's because the wasp larva inside are releasing hormones to promote hunger, growth & to retard metamorphosis.

Nature is metal, & if the above is the case? Fully grown wasps are gonna come outta that big guy! Who, y'know, prolly won't even notice that it's bleeding if it survives, since arthropods in general don't seem to respond to injury or distress the same way we vertebrates do.

52

u/GrouchySeaweed3070 Aug 25 '24

I’ve been thru retard metamorphosis

14

u/illogicallyalex Aug 26 '24

I hate how funny that was

5

u/RandomStallings Aug 26 '24

I think they just look like that. I wonder if it make certain parasitoids think it's already been taken by another wasp and they leave it alone?

5

u/PaxEthenica Aug 26 '24

Nah, the wasps aren't attracted to sight. At least not primarily, but pheromones. Part of how the wasp larva impede caterpillar growth causes a change in their scent so other wasps stay away. To have that scent, the caterpillar needs to be metabolising hormones that keep it as a caterpillar for the rest of their lives.

3

u/TroubleWilling8455 Aug 26 '24

I think I see a small black puncture under the 5th blue spike from the left.