Photographer Gets Up Close and Personal With Caterpillar that Mimics Tarantulas
Maybe a little too close
Who needs extraterrestrials when we have creatures like this right here on Earth?
Nature photographer David Weiller recently shared this HD footage of a truly remarkable — and some would say disgusting — insect of the Amazon Rainforest known as the Monkey Slug Caterpillar (Phobetron hipparchia).
“This mesmerizing caterpillar mimics a hairy tarantula spider with its oddly long hairy arms curling out. When looking at the underside, it looks like a slug with its suction cups prolegs and its tiny legs. This caterpillar is the larvae of the hag moth.”
The footage was taken in Puyo, Ecuador.
Weiller’s entire YouTube channel is worth a look. If you want to see some more gooey Monkey Slug action, check out this video, where one mimics the shed skin of a Tarantula Spider. Or maybe this one of a snake-mimic caterpillar.
Up top you can see a different Monkey Slug (Phobetron pithecium), which might be a little closer to home for some of us. The photo was taken by photographers Andy Reago and Chrissy McClarren at Hawn State Park in Missouri.
