Caterpillar Chemists

Photo courtesy Raudsepp-Hearne, et al. / Smithsonian Tropical research Institute
October 2, 2015
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Photo courtesy Raudsepp-Hearne, et al. / Smithsonian Tropical research Institute

The bright stripes and bristles of this skipper butterfly caterpillar, Pyrrhopyge thericles warn predators that it packs a toxic punch, thanks to an exclusive diet of toxic plants of the genus Vismia. (Photo courtesy Raudsepp-Hearne, et al / Smithsonian Tropical research Institute)