It's just a caterpillar pretending to be a snake

Jun 12, 2015 14:19 GMT  ·  By

It's not easy being a caterpillar. Birds want to eat you, lizards crave your flesh, and even some insects would love nothing more than feast on your frail body. 

To keep themselves safe, otherwise defenseless Dynastor darius caterpillars have evolved to look like snakes when in their pupal stage and, therefore, at their most vulnerable.

Mind you, wildlife researchers say that these smart caterpillars, native to Trinidad, don't make themselves look like any snake on the block to fool their predators.

Rather, they mimic the appearance of the venomous Gaboon pit viper, Oddity Central informs. They keep playing the snake for a couple of weeks, after which they emerge from their chrysalis.

Because they can see through their cocoon, the caterpillars sometimes even move about to create the impression of a moving snake head when noticing a potential predator approaching.

“The predator itself turns and flees after suddenly coming face-to-face with a realistic ‘snake’ that waves violently back and forth,” explain specialists Annette Aiello and Robert Silberglied.

Interestingly, these caterpillars are not the only ones that pretend to be snakes to fool predators and make sure they don't become somebody's breakfast, lunch or dinner.

One other such creature in the Hemeroplanes family living in Costa Rica also makes itself look like a snake to ward off any birds or other animals that might consider eating it.

Some caterpillars pretend to be snakes (5 Images)

Caterpillars are at the bottom of the food chain
This means many creatures feed on themTo stay safe, some caterpillars pretend to be snakes
+2more