Caterpillars fake snakes escaping predators

Looking from afar, this greasy green caterpillar seems to be a very attractive dish for any predator. However, when the enemy approaches, the caterpillar can transform very quickly, becoming a snake clinging to the tree.

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In order to scare the enemy, the caterpillar transforms by cramming its legs and bulging one end of its body, with specks that look like the head and face of a dangerous snake.

The blue caterpillar turns into a snake dangling from the tree.(Photo: Carters )

Unlike other snake-like butterfly larvae, in addition to disguised talents, this brilliant green insect even mimics the behavior of a snake. When another creature approached, moths also pretended to attack. However, it can't bite like scary reptiles.

Professor Daniel Janzen, a biologist from the University of Pennsylvania (USA), photographed this peculiar insect during a caterpillar study in Central America.

"For ordinary people, this caterpillar may look weird and scary. But for me, it's just like a walk in the park. Every moth in Costa Rica looks like something. different, from the leaves, branches and in this case a slippery snake , " said Janzen.

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The biology professor has studied Costa Rica's moth species since 1978. He said that he had captured a model of a mock moth in a protected area of ​​Guanacaste, northwest Costa Rica and recognized by UNESCO. world Heritage.

According to Janzen, the caterpillar belongs to Hemeroplanes. Its ability to transform is to ward off enemies that eat meat while still in the larval stage, before developing to pupae stage.