Comment on the mad hatter

watersnipje@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

• rowrowrowyourboat@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  But why undertake this elaborate millinery? One study published in 2016 investigated this question by holding trials involving the caterpillars and their natural predators — spiders and stink bugs. The researchers found that attacks on larvae with a stack of headcases took more than 10 times longer than attacks on larvae that had had their stack removed. They found that the empty head capsules acted as a false target for predators and could also be used to deflect the piercing rostrum of a predator.

  livescience.com/…/gum-leaf-skeletonizer-the-venom…

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  • watersnipje@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    Oh really cool, thank you!

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• tdawg@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  Put a stack of decaying skin on your head and see how appetizing you look to predators

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  • watersnipje@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    Yeah, fair. Maybe it’s just like that lizard that squirts blood out of its eyes and predators just go “EESH WTF”

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• PapaStevesy@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  Maybe it does nothing and evolution just never selected against it.

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  • watersnipje@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    It’s possible. Seems like it would at least change visibility to predators though. Or make it harder for the caterpillar to hide. Interesting!

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• Deceptichum@quokk.au ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  Image

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