Can You Spot The Caterpillar That's Camouflaged On This ... | 台北市立動物園資訊網

2017年7月5日—Caterpillarshaveevolvedanarrayoftraitstoprotectthemselvesfrompredators...Thecommonbaroncaterpillarcanalmostdisappearcompletelyonmangoleaves....Containingahighlytoxicvenom,thiscaterpillarinjectsan ...

Take a look at the image above – do you see anything different about it? Whilst it may seem like a totally normal leaf, there is actually a caterpillar in the center of the frame, blending in almost perfectly with its environment.

This is the common baron caterpillar[1] (Euthalia aconthea), a critter native to India and Southeast Asia. Feeding on mangoes and cashew nuts in the foliage, the little larvae live a solitary life, hiding from predators as they slowly develop and eventually grow into nymphalid butterflies, which are unfortunately much less impressively camouflaged.

The common baron butterfly. Anant Kasetsinsombut/Shutterstock.

The common baron hatches from the underside of a leaf, which is the site in which the nymphalid butterfly lays its eggs. As the larvae grows in ...