Here is a weird moth larva

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on a unique carnivorous caterpillar species from Hawaii, which inhabits spider webs and feeds on captured arthropods. This species, part of the Lepidoptera order, has been identified as a rare lineage, existing for over six million years, predating Hawaii's current high islands. The caterpillars exhibit a peculiar behavior of decorating their larval homes with the remains of their prey. Conservation efforts are urgently needed to protect this species, which is confined to a mere 15 square kilometers on Oʻahu.

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  • Understanding of Lepidoptera taxonomy
  • Knowledge of phylogenomic analysis
  • Familiarity with conservation biology principles
  • Awareness of Hawaiian ecological systems
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  • Research the conservation strategies for endemic species in Hawaii
  • Explore phylogenomic methods used in studying insect lineages
  • Investigate the ecological roles of carnivorous insects
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Entomologists, conservation biologists, ecologists, and anyone interested in the unique adaptations and conservation of Hawaiian species.

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This is in Science:

Abstract​

Lepidoptera is the most herbivorous of all the insect orders, with predatory caterpillars globally comprising less than 0.13% of the nearly 200,000 moth and butterfly species. Here, we report a species in which caterpillars are carnivorous inhabitants of spider’s webs, feeding on the arthropods that they find there. This Hawaiian lineage also boasts an unprecedented and macabre practice of decorating its portable larval home with the body parts of the spider prey it harvests from the web where it resides. Phylogenomic data suggest that the origin of this unique spider cohabitant is at least six million years old, more than one million years older than Hawaii’s current high islands. After decades of searching, only one species has been discovered, and it is restricted to 15 square kilometers of a single mountain range on the island of Oʻahu, meaning that other members of the lineage have disappeared from older islands. Conservation action to save this globally unique lineage is imperative and overdue.

Screenshot 2025-04-24 at 4.04.40 PM.png
 
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All I have to say is... yuck.
 
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I was telling a friend about that yesterday after having read a blurb in an issue of Science. The abstract says that the species is "more than one million years older than Hawaii’s current high islands" and I was wondering where it had originally blown or floated in from.

The "bone" camouflage didn't disgust me but I was oddly disappointed to learn that there are carnivorous caterpillars. I don't why that bugged me (haha). I have a carnivorous plant and think it's cool.

Short video: https://www.science.org/doi/suppl/10.1126/science.ads4243/suppl_file/science.ads4243_movie_s1.zip
 
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I thought I heard of a predatory inchworm also in Hawaii?