Reader Paul sent in this video of a caterpillar who hides itself in a leaf tent to remain undetected by predators while eating the leaf. It works only because the beast eats only one layer of the leaf. But look at the sophistication of this behavior! I particularly like the way it makes the “hinge” and then pulls the semicircle of leaf over itself.
This is a new video, and I have no identification of the insect, but perhaps readers can help.
“But look at the sophistication of this behavior!” Good grief, that’s incredible.
Astounding!!!
Amazing behaviour, thanks for sharing!
I’m not particularly impressed. I think he really needs a center pole. 😉
At least he clears it away when he’s finished with it. There was a shocking news report on the radio here in the UK about young people going “wild camping” and not only leaving mountains of rubbish behind but also abandoning their tents! Apparently, the concept of tents as a single-use disposable item is common at weekend music festivals these days, but this year they’ve all been cancelled. (And yet we’re continuously told how it’s our generation that is sending the planet to hell in a hand-cart…!)
When the plague lifts, we’ll need a surcharge tax on tents and maybe a nice stiff deposit on tent purchases, like pop(soda) bottles. I can see it now: folks hiking around with a wagon after an event loading up on used tents to get the refund. The tents are then washed and dried and sold back to the kids for the next event. Sustainability!
I believe that at some festivals, the people clearing up recover the abandoned tents and re-sell them if they are still serviceable. It doesn’t excuse the throwaway attitude of those who abandoned the tents in the first place but at least it means that some don’t end up in landfill.
Or, for heaven’s sake, biodegradable tents!
Both those ideas could work!
Incredible!
It says ‘this video has been removed by the uploader’
It looked like it was stolen from somewhere by the uploader.
Maybe a workaround can be found. Not sure why this happens sometimes.
Respect! This is fascinating.
I’ve observed a backyard chipmunk scampering from planter to planter. Later I discovered it had planted birdseed on account of the plants that sprouted. Of course Chippie could have been just sashing the seeds but I like thinking that it planted the seeds to multiply its gains.
…. stashing…
Too bad the video has gone away. Probably a copyright issue. I looked for it elsewhere but couldn’t find it.
Here’s another caterpillar doing something smart: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7UOPjzvglX0
Turns out there’s a whole genre of these videos: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FRbLMkce82A