Larva looks like a pile of poo.


	Larva looks like a pile of poo.

coconutshell

3-13-2008 4:19 AM

465 views

tags:

insects, animals, nature, camouflage, butterfly, disguise, poo

coconutshell says:

Fascinating!!! This by far surpasses the whole Ugly Duckling story.....

1 Comment |

Add a Comment

3-13-2008 1:01 PM

thisnamecantbetaken

I've always thought metamorphosis was such a fascinating and excitingly 'magical' phenomenon. Nature is absolutely fantastic.

Login to Comment. Not a member yet? Sign up

Dino diversity earlier than first thought

Dinosaurs Diversified Over Time, not Suddenly

Five Plants That Repel Mosquitoes

He Likes to Do It Outdoors

Sex, lies and some existential questions.....

Animal Diversity Web

More clips from coconutshell

Days with my Father

OctoOctopi and a bit more

Armpit TV

Today's Top Clips

visit the Top Clips page

View the Top Clips from March 13, 2008

Embed This Clip In Your Site...

<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://www.clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/2c6c2b71-2eee-4cf7-9fce-ed8960940d63/2BFC1869-AE4C-4389-904B-22A2DCBF6FA5/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080221-caterpillar-picture.html" href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080221-caterpillar-picture.html" style="font-size: 11px;">news.nationalgeographic.com</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080221-caterpillar-picture.html"><div align="center"><img src="http://content6.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/news.nationalgeographic.com/img/100FE785-37DF-491E-917D-05E0E8533F36" alt="caterpillar picture" /></div></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080221-caterpillar-picture.html"><P>
<B>February 21, 2007—</B>This larval swallowtail butterfly's clever disguise (left) is literally a load of crap.
</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080221-caterpillar-picture.html"><P>
In its larval stages, the Asian swallowtail—also known as the Chinese or Japanese yellow swallowtail—mimics the appearance of bird droppings to prevent predators from gobbling it up. 
</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080221-caterpillar-picture.html"><P>
In its last phase of development, the insect turns green (right) to blend into the leaves on which it lives.
</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080221-caterpillar-picture.html"><P>
A new study shows that a single juvenile hormone is responsible for switching on and off the "spectacular diversity" of the caterpillar's colors, Japanese researchers say. 
</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080221-caterpillar-picture.html"><P>
"[Juvenile hormone] has been known to be involved in molt, metamorphosis, and some other events," study co-author Haruhiko Fujiwara of the University of Tokyo told National Geographic News in an email.
</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080221-caterpillar-picture.html"><P>
"But in this report, we found that [the hormone] regulates pattern change, which is an original finding."
</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080221-caterpillar-picture.html"><P>
The substance also has the power to shape the caterpillar's texture and pigment distribution, enhancing its disguise.
</P></blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/2BFC1869-AE4C-4389-904B-22A2DCBF6FA5/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content7.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>