A newly discovered carnivorous caterpillar that wears the remains of its prey has been dubbed the "bone collector." The odd insect is only found on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, the AP reports. It creeps along spiderwebs, feeding on trapped insects and decorating its silk case with their body parts. There are other meat-eating caterpillars that "do lots of crazy things, but this takes the cake," says Dan Rubinoff with the University of Hawaii at Manoa. In a study published in the journal Science, Rubinoff and other researchers described the practice as "unprecedented and macabre."
Scientists think the case might act as camouflage, allowing the caterpillar to feast on the spider's ensnared meals without getting caught. A host of caterpillars native to Hawaii use silk glands to spin protective cases studded with lichen, sand, and other materials. This one is the first to use ant heads and fly wings. "They need to hide in a tapestry of bug parts to stay alive in the spider's lair," Rubinoff tells Reuters. He says the "bone collector" name is "a bit tongue in cheek because arthropods don't actually have bones." Scientists found just 62 of the carnivorous caterpillars in over 20 years of observing.
Predatory caterpillars are extremely rare, and the bone collectors found in Hawaii will even eat each other, researchers said. "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," researchers wrote. They believe similar species on other islands have died out. The species they found dwells in an isolated patch of mountain forest alongside invasive species and is considered highly endangered. "There is really a concern that we need to do better with conservation," Rubinoff says.
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