Meat-Eating Caterpillar; It hunts snails and ties them down

ScienceNews ^ | 7/23/05 | S. Milius

[furball4paws]

A snail eating caterpillar is described. It hunts down snails, ties them down with silk and devours them.

"Such oddball lifestyles tend to develop in isolated ecosystems where there's a limited variety of creatures, as in Hawaii. "There's more room for evolutionary experimentation," says Gillespie. For example, Hawaiian insects evolved without ants as predators or competitors for food."

[ZOTnot]

Quite a way (West Virginia....)

Lush mountains, usually wet enough springs and summers (except this year since drought seems to be setting in...)

Just enough vegetation to keep the slugs flourishing year after year. Some in the yard have been 2-3 inches in length. UGH.

[MarMema]

We need to look into this more. I will see what I can find out tomorrow.

[furball4paws]

Forget it. The USDA wouldn't let you haul those guys out of Hawaii onto the mainland. You'll put some snail at risk and the Greenie Weenies will be all over your tail.

But if you succeed, let me know.

[SALChamps03]

Caternator??? Termipillar????

[SALChamps03]

Hey, caterpillar races. You get a mechanical snail to race around the track, and you put numbers on the caterpillars. Of course, the races might take months.

[Dont_Tread_On_Me_888]

Once more evolution rears its ugly head in the form of oddball feeding habits.