This Caterpillar In Ecuador Mimics Snake When Threatened

When this caterpillar in Ecuador is threatened it expands its underside, mimicking a snake head with black eyes! It will also strike like a snake to deter predators! A considerable number of representatives of the animal world are true masters of disguise. For example, the butterfly caterpillar Hemeroplanes Triptolemus has an excellent protective mechanism. In case of danger, it clings to its hind legs to a twig, expands its underside and mimics a snake’s head with large black eyes! It will also strike like a snake to deter predators!Show more

This caterpillar can be found in the tropical forests of Central America, although the species has also been seen in the northern part of South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana). Caterpillars spend most of their time on trees thriving on a strictly vegetarian diet and it is positioned on the bottom of the food chain. In order to preserve the species, the caterpillar snake has developed an excellent protective mechanism, which allows it to reincarnate into a rattlesnake. At the time of danger, it clings to the back of the tree with its hind legs and lifts the upper part of its body. Then this cunning creature swells and its uplifted part acquires a triangular shape resembling the head of a snake with large eyes and shiny scales. For greater persuasiveness, it even begins to slightly rock "back and forth", imitating, in this way, the readiness of the snake to attack. All these tricks force the enemy to retreat.

But, like all caterpillars, after a while, the caterpillar snake will reincarnate into a butterfly. It's a pity that nature’s actor of this magnitude gets to disappear so unpoetically.