I'm only a little bit afraid.
this post was submitted on 24 Jun 2023
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Nature and Gardening
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Upvoted the photo. I'd downvote the caterpillar if I could.
you'll be happy to know there is a parasitic wasp that will inject it's eggs into m. Sexta caterpillars. the eggs are coated in a virus that shutsdown and then reboots the caterpillar's immune system. By doing so, it resets the caterpillar's immune sytem, so that anything within the caterpillar's body is consider part of the caterpillar by the immune system.
then, the eggs hatch, and the magic begins. the larvae slowly eat their way out of the living caterpillar's body and then go off to pupate.
beautiful, ain't it?
Just to add to this, many types of parasitoid wasps are fully dependent on pollen and nectar in their adult forms. Plants like Achillea millefolium, Solidago spp., Pycnanthemum spp., Eupatorium spp., and Apiaceae spp. are great additions to gardens for those who'd like these incredible insects patrolling for them.
👀