Most caterpillars won't do much harm, but this unique-looking stinging species could cause painful welts alongside other, ...

[1/2]The habitat of a newly identified carnivorous caterpillar species nicknamed the “bone collector”, which camouflages itself by wearing body parts of its prey, in Waianae mountain range of ...

Earth is home to over 20,000 caterpillar species, found in every corner of the globe except Antarctica. While most are harmless, some species are just as dangerous as venomous snakes. Their ...

Scientists in Hawaii have discovered a new, extremely rare species: carnivorous, bone-collecting caterpillars, that live in one 5-mile area on Oahu.

Dubbed the “bone collector,” this caterpillar species sports remains of prey as camouflage while it stalks spider webs for trapped bugs, researchers report in the April 25 Science.

These caterpillars are striped with yellow-orange and black, and could be mistaken for the orange-striped oakworm (above), but this species has a large red head that makes it very identifiable.

None of this is fair to the caterpillar, which is an important keystone species. Many other insects prey on them, including parasitic flies and wasps, many of which become food for other organisms.

The overwhelming majority of caterpillars eat vegetation. Predatory caterpillars globally comprise less than 0.13% of the planet's nearly 200,000 moth and butterfly species.

The caterpillar, a previously unknown species, is a member of a group of moths called Hyposmocoma native to Hawaii that includes hundreds of species and arose about 12 million years ago.