News tagged with caterpillars

Iowa State students take a lighter, more autonomous 'lunabot' to NASA competition

Jared Peterson, working away in the Caterpillar Mechatronics Laboratory in Iowa State University's Hoover Hall, recently held up a small electric motor.

Electronics / Robotics

created May 21, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

GoQBot: Caterpillars inspire new movements in soft robots (w/ video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers have been examining the diverse behaviours of caterpillars to find solutions for the new generation of search and rescue soft robots.

Electronics / Robotics

created Apr 27, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Lost World Found in Papua New Guinea Volcano

(PhysOrg.com) -- A BBC expedition exploring inside the crater of an extinct volcano in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has discovered a lost world of dozens of weird new species and rare animals, including new frogs, ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Sep 08, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (64) | comments 8 weblog

Termites' digestive system could act as biofuel refinery

One of the peskiest household pests, while disastrous to homes, could prove to be a boon for cars, according to a Purdue University study.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jul 05, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Low oxygen triggers moth molt

A new explanation for one of nature's most mysterious processes, the transformation of caterpillars into moths or butterflies, might best be described as breathless.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Aug 22, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Caterpillars aren't so bird brained after all

(PhysOrg.com) -- Caterpillars that masquerade as twigs to avoid becoming a bird's dinner are actually using clever behavioural strategies to outwit their predators, according to a new study.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Apr 04, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

When it's cool, female butterflies chase males in sex role reversal

If you want to be surrounded by females on the prowl, it pays to be cool, at least if you are a male butterfly.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jan 06, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Ritualized 'talking' in caterpillars evolved from walking (w/ Video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have long wondered how elaborate animal communication signals evolved, and while animal communication theory holds that many evolved from non-signaling behaviors, there has been ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Apr 13, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

Scientists learn how insects 'remodel' their bodies between life stages

It's one of life's special moments: a child finds a fat caterpillar, puts it in a jar with a twig and a few leaves, and awakens one day to find the caterpillar has disappeared and an elegant but apparently ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Feb 29, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Vomiting caterpillars weigh up costs and benefits of group living

(PhysOrg.com) -- A type of caterpillar which defends itself by regurgitating on its predators is less likely to do so when in groups than when alone, a new study by researchers from the University of Bristol ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Apr 06, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Mortal combat is the rational choice for wasps

(PhysOrg.com) -- Males of an unusual group of wasps fight to the death over females, even if they've already mated or are competing with their own brothers, a new study shows. The behaviour was seen in parasitoid ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Aug 09, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Research on viral origins suggests new definition of virus may be needed

(PhysOrg.com) -- The strange interaction of a parasitic wasp, the caterpillar in which it lays its eggs and a virus that helps it overcome the caterpillar’s immune defenses has some scientists rethinking the ...

Biology /

created Feb 12, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (11) | comments 10

New bacteria toxins against resistant insect pests

Toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria (Bt toxins) are used in organic and conventional farming to manage pest insects. Sprayed as pesticides or produced in genetically modified plants, Bt toxins, us ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Oct 19, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers identify insect resistance to Bt pesticide

For the first time, researchers have identified how cabbage looper caterpillars in the field develop resistance to the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which naturally occurs in the soil and on plants ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Aug 30, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Global warming may reroute evolution

(PhysOrg.com) -- Rising carbon dioxide levels associated with global warming may affect interactions between plants and the insects that eat them, altering the course of plant evolution, research at the University ...

Biology / Evolution

created Feb 16, 2011 | popularity 3.2 / 5 (9) | comments 14 | with audio podcast

Caterpillar

Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture. Many moth species are better known in their caterpillar stages because of the damage they cause to fruits and other agricultural produce.

The etymological origins of the word are from the early 16th century, from Middle English catirpel, catirpeller, probably an alteration of Old North French catepelose: cate, cat (from Latin cattus) + pelose, hairy (from Latin pilōsus).

For more information about Caterpillar, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Related topics: larvae , insects