caterpillar

Under the theme of "Start Your Journey," Caterpillar, as a major Festival sponsor and leader in STEM and skilled trades, is set to wow audiences at the Expo this month with a dynamic array of interactive exhibits and presentations designed to demonstrate the breadth of opportunities that exist at Caterpillar and Cat Dealerships around the country in STEM-related frontiers and career paths. Says Gwenne Henricks, Caterpillar's Vice President of Product Development & Global Technology & Chief Technology Officer: "We want attendees to leave with the impression that Caterpillar is an…
Caterpillars with fungus growing out of their heads. Image of Cordyceps sinensis fungus from http://cordyceps-sinensis-mushroom.blogspot.com/ Whoever thought that a brain-attacking fungus might actually be good for you? This particular type of fungus, cordyceps, is known for attacking and killing caterpillars and can be found in the mountains of Tibet. Touted as a cure for various ailments including cancer, asthma, and erectile dysfunction, it is sold in Chinese markets as the "golden worm" or "Tibetan mushroom" for as much as $50,000 per pound! A new study published in RNA provides some…
Welcome Maryn McKenna and her blog Superbug to Sb! And, in case I forgot to mention it before, make sure to check out Deborah Blum's blog Speakeasy Science, too!Wildlife experts use civetone-containing cologne to lure big catsIn a scene reminiscent of the ending of Kingdom of the Spiders, caterpillars blanket the English countryside with webs.Coming soon, Inside Nature's Giants, series two.John Lynch shares the introduction to Follies of the Present Day: Scriptural Geology from 1817 to 1857.So you want to be a scientist? Learn to write!How to make a blockbuster - the creative process behind…
By DAY 7, the little guys aren't so little anymore... Now that we can see some details on these guys, let's learn a little about what we're looking at. Painted lady caterpillars have three pair of true legs, located closest to the mandible. The remaining five pair are called pro-legs or false legs. Although these 'false legs' are functional and important for the caterpillar for feeding, they get the diss because they are lost during metamorphosis. The butterfly emerges with only three pair of legs. Each caterpillar has six pair of ocelli, or eyes. Even with all these eyes, their vision…
When you lose your job, you find yourself taking on new hobbies and projects. Some of them are productive. Some are fun. And some just satisfy the kid in you. So, say hello to my painted lady caterpillars! These cuties will be spending the next three weeks of their lives with me before being released into the flower-filled courtyard of my building, where they will hopefully get busy and help make more flowers during their short, 2-4 week lives. I thought it would be fun, distracting, and great CV-fodder to take you all along with me. Aren't you lucky?! I'll keep you up-to-date on the…
There are so many fascinating stories about parasitic wasps that they have become a regular feature in this blog. Usually, their prey come off poorly in these tales, with caterpillars being reduced to little more than living, paralysed larders for macabre wasp grubs. But not always - some hosts don't take the invasion of their bodies lying down. This post is an attempt to redress the balance between parasite and host, by telling the story of the caterpillar that fights back... with medicine. One species of tiger moth, Grammia incorrupta, has a fuzzy caterpillar called the woolly bear. Like…
Formica francoeuri tending larvae of the copper butterfly, Lycaena xanthoides. Southern California photo details: Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x macro lens on a Canon EOS 20D ISO 100, 1/250 sec, f/13, flash diffused through tracing paper
Lycaena xanthoides - Great Copper California A butterfly larva peeks through a hole it has eaten in its Rumex host plant.
tags: moth, Ecpantheria scribonia, giant leopard moth, Image of the Day During the process of splitting and transferring wood from the woodpile yesterday, we discovered a large (2.5" long) hairy caterpillar. I have enclosed two pictures of it [the second is below the fold]; it is the larval stage of the Giant Leopard Moth, Ecpantheria scribonia. The life cycle is described and the adult is pictured here. Image: Dave Rintoul [wallpaper size] Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [wallpaper size]