Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Depicable? No; useful and beautiful - the Caterpillar!




Tiny creatures moving differently often attracted me in my childhood. Unlike the insects' movements, they creep on the ground and move slowly, and don't fly at all. One of them is Caterpillar (Larva, 'Puzhu' in Tamil). These caterpillars are different from worms; they are only the intermediary forms in the development of insects from eggs to the adult forms, the insects.
Best examples are the caterpillars of  butterflies and moths. They also have different features as in shape and size according to the insects they evolve into.



They have Y or V - shaped marks on their head and yet some of them have spiny bristles all over their body. Some caterpillars have body parts and colour patterns that threaten their predators. Still I have a crawling sensation on my body whenever I see a caterpillar! They are herbivorous and voracious feeders on leaves. And have strong mandibles to chew the leaves. Thus they often become pests in agricultural fields affecting the income of farmers. The Silkworm (caterpillar of  Silkmoth - Bombyx mori), produces silk thread and spins it around itself to form a cocoon in its pupal stage of development. This silk is useful to weave attractive clothes. These caterpillars are food for many animals too, The Paper wasp seizes one of it and carries it to feed its own larva!
Such useful and wonderful caterpillars are the wonders in God's creations that they should be treated as organisms similar to a child in the mother's womb! They should not be valued as of lower order and debased as it is done everywhere!

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