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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Moths and caterpillars covered by fungus
Photo#726228
Dead caterpillars
Copyright © 2012 MJ Hatfield

Dead caterpillars
Adel - Prairie Seed Production Plots, Dallas County, Iowa, USA
October 12, 2005
Long before I'd heard of BG I worked in the Iowa DNR prairie production plots. One morning we arrived at work to find lots of dead caterpillars, different species, all at the tops of plants, different species. An entomologist aquaintance explained that the caterpillars were probably infested with fungi that caused them to crawl to the tops of plants to die, all the better to spread the fungal spores.

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Dead caterpillars Dead caterpillars
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Contributed by MJ Hatfield on 27 November, 2012 - 7:20am
Last updated 31 October, 2015 - 8:43am

OMGOSH! That's so creepy!
.
… Fyn Kynd, 27 November, 2012 - 11:03am login or register to post comments

Amazing collection!
Amazing collection!
… john and jane balaban, 27 November, 2012 - 8:46am login or register to post comments

 
There were lots
more of them. I only collected some in hopes of figuring out what happened as I really hadn't a clue. Since then I've learned that there are fungi that can control behavior. Better than sci-fi!
… MJ Hatfield, 27 November, 2012 - 9:55am login or register to post comments

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