CLOSED: What am I looking at?

spgfr Delmar, MD Aug 17, 2015

Worm, caterpillar? The image almost seems surreal.

Thanks...

Flapdoodle Minot, ND Aug 17, 2015

The caterpillar appears to be an early instar larva of a moth in the family Geometridae; the flower parts appear to be arranged in a Fibonacci number pattern - http://www.popmath.org.uk/rpamaths/rpampages/sunflower.html

spgfr Delmar, MD Aug 17, 2015

Can you speculate on what it's doing? Is it feeding? It seems like it's making itself a good target for predators.

Thanks again...

Chillybean (Zone 5a) Aug 17, 2015

Geometer larvae will often hold itself up like a twig in order to camouflage itself to hide from predators. Sometimes their spot seems ridiculous to us, but it must work.

Scroll down to Special Behaviors and Defenses:
http://insects.about.com/od/butterfliesmoths/p/Geometer-Moths-Inchworms-And-Loopers-Family-Geometridae.htm

This message was edited Aug 17, 2015 4:26 PM

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