Parasite on the caterpillar?

MacroLuv · Post by **MacroLuv** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 11:37 am

I was looking back in my archives for the photographs of caterpillar Hyles euphorbiae euphorbiae (aka "roller coaster") and found one interesting detail. Look at that cushion alike organic thing under caterpillar's leg. Wondering what it could be? A parasite?

Camera model Olympus SP-320
Date/time 12.06.2006/16:53:54
Exposure time 1/640 s
F-number f/3.2
ISO 64
Focal length 8 mm

Bruce Williams · Post by **Bruce Williams** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 2:06 pm

Firstly Nikola - that is one beautiful photo!

Could it be a seed head that the cat picked up on its travels?

Bruce

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 5:37 pm

You know guys, this may sound odd but it could be the caterpillars "feet?" They or it, are much the same color as those areas of reddish orange on the posterior of the cat.

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 10:31 pm

Ken Ramos wrote:You know guys, this may sound odd but it could be the caterpillars "feet?" They or it, are much the same color as those areas of reddish orange on the posterior of the cat.

I assume that Nikola is talking about the more balloon-like thing that we can see only on the left-most foot, and not on the the second one.

But even so, I think it's a normal part of the foot. This one is sticking out a bit more than I'm used to seeing, but those abdominal prolegs are generally pretty fleshy and expandable. The normal grasping action is to expand the fleshy part, which exposes the little hooks ("crochets"), then retract the whole mess, making the hooks dig into whatever the critter has a grip on. (See Claws of a cutworm.) It could be that this caterpillar just got a hook or two caught and is trying a little harder than normal to get loose.

Nikola, have you watched these things enough to know whether that's not a normal part of this species' foot?

--Rik

acerola · Post by **acerola** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 3:00 pm

I like this catepillar. I have pictures from it, maybe it explains much.

Is it OK to post here?

The feets are elastic and they can fold up while make a step. Then the feets spread on the surface.

MacroLuv · Post by **MacroLuv** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 7:23 pm

Thanks folks! I've checked out my archive photographs carefully again and found that feet feature visible indeed on some of them but not as much as on the photographs above.
Thanks again for making this thing clear.

beetleman · Post by **beetleman** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 4:53 am

Wonderful photographs fellas. Very nice investigation also.