The snake caterpillar uses a clever disguise to ward off predator
The caterpillar cleverly camouflages itself as a slithering snake and comes with a head that looks like a snake. The snake caterpillar, in its larval state before becoming a moth, will also strike harmlessly if approached, just as a snake would, with the exception of a potential bite.
When disturbed the caterpillar pulls in its legs and head and expands the front part of its body, to take on the appearance of a serpent. The brown part, which appears to be the top of the snake's head, is actually the caterpillar's underside.
Photos by Daniel Janzen
Watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1kkhaJ4bpk
Read more :
http://www.grindtv.com/wildlife/caterpillar-appears-snake-camouflage/#si3dH9v6dMtvsgjI.99
#biodiversity #snakecaterpillar
It's cool on different levels. The immediate phenomenon itself - species mimicking others as an unconscious survival strategy. But then also, as Dawkins' put it, the Blind Watchmaker at work, borrowing designs from one tendril of life and applying them to others. The glorious living film on our planet's surface is continuously elaborating its forms in a slow motion dance, with so many themes. In this case, almost with a sense of humour: ironic subterfuge.
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