Every child knows that the caterpillar is nothing but a butterfly larva. Almost all caterpillars eat plants, that is leaves, flowers, sometimes fruits. But there are other varieties of these insects that do not eat leaves with flowers, for example, wool, wax, horny substances and so on. In nature, there are predatory caterpillars, they feed mainly on insects such as aphids, larvae and pupae of ants. They do not disdain to regale with their fellows. It is known that immediately after birth, the caterpillar eats the shell of its egg, and then all the eggs found on the path.
The eyes of this insect are located on the sides of the head. In addition, the organs of vision are in close proximity to the mouth of the caterpillar, and they are arranged in the form of an arc consisting of 5 simple eyes with one in the middle of the arc. And did you know that an ordinary caterpillar can easily compete with the strongest athlete, because its body has about 4,000 muscles, and a man, as is known, has only 629. Unlike human caterpillars, the muscles of the caterpillars constitute the skeletal structure of their body. They are like small balls with air, through which blood circulates through the interweaving of muscles.
Since the birth of the caterpillar, only that and is engaged in that intensely gaining weight, eating everything in a row. Thus, after 56 days it can grow tens of times. And a caterpillar, like a spider, can make a silk web. Only here the silky-divisive pair iron is located near the lower lip. This peculiar saliva, standing out and in contact with oxygen, turns into a silk thread. Then the caterpillar can use it to glue the foliage in order to arrange the cocoon or protect it. For the production of silk for many centuries, people collect cocoons caterpillars of tulip silkworm. Just imagine that the shell of such a cocoon consists of an uninterrupted silk thread reaching 900 m in length, and sometimes its length can reach 1500 m.
Some caterpillars are famous for their endurance. They can hibernate in order to wait for the winter. The life cycle of some insect species can last for 15 years. As for extreme temperatures, in the world there are such individuals who feel quite comfortable at a temperature of 70 degrees below zero, and some species of caterpillars have gone even further: they have learned to deceive ants by posing as their uterus. With the help of such a trick, they calmly endure hard times in a warm and cozy anthill, while the ants feed and protect them.
