The caterpillar of the elephant hawk moth from Brazil mimics a snake to defend itself from predators. When alarmed, the crawler flips, retracts its legs and head, and puffs up its thorax or the front part of its body to appear like the head of a snake. It has two pairs of eye spot markings on its body.
If the “deadly” costume isn’t enough to deter a predator, the caterpillar might also strike to enhance the effect.
While many animals use eyespots to draw predators’ attention away from the head (a tactic known as deflection), a snake mimic caterpillar’s false face is actually located on the same end as its real one.
“Deflection might not work well for a caterpillar because the caterpillar probably won’t survive if any part of its body gets pierced or ripped off by an attacker,” explains eyespot expert Dr Thomas Hossie. “This defence is all about intimidating or startling an attacker who will run (or fly) away instead of risk a lethal encounter with a snake.”
Picture Credit : Google
