this post was submitted on 27 Nov 2024
331 points (99.1% liked)

Science Memes

11243 readers
3136 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.

Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.

Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Sal@mander.xyz
fossilesque@mander.xyz
SciBot@mander.xyz
331
the mad hatter (mander.xyz)
submitted 2 days ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz
17 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] rowrowrowyourboat@sh.itjust.works 40 points 1 day ago (2 children)

But why undertake this elaborate millinery? One study published in 2016 investigated this question by holding trials involving the caterpillars and their natural predators — spiders and stink bugs. The researchers found that attacks on larvae with a stack of headcases took more than 10 times longer than attacks on larvae that had had their stack removed. They found that the empty head capsules acted as a false target for predators and could also be used to deflect the piercing rostrum of a predator.

https://www.livescience.com/animals/moths/gum-leaf-skeletonizer-the-venomous-mad-hatterpillar-that-wears-its-old-heads-like-a-crown

[–] Rhaedas@fedia.io 9 points 1 day ago

That was my first guess, false target. Like a lizard that loses the tail, only less involved. Evolution ends up with odd solutions, but if it helps favor a trait by leading to survival, it's good enough. It could have just as easily been as someone else suggested, something that was passed on but not selected against either. Not all evolved things have to do with survival, some just are there.

[–] watersnipje@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 day ago

Oh really cool, thank you!