6 Responses to The Very Hungry Caterpillar

1. Vasha says:

   August 22, 2012 at 12:58 AM

   Are those ocelli just back of the mandibles, or is this caterpillar entirely blind?

   Reply
   • Ted C. MacRae says:

     August 22, 2012 at 9:15 AM

     Yes, those are ocelli. They don’t do much other than detect light/dark and movement—certainly not able to make out images to any degree.

     Reply
     • James C. Trager says:

       August 22, 2012 at 12:45 PM

       Ocelli, rather than the larval precursors of the compound eyes?

       Reply
       • Ted C. MacRae says:

         August 22, 2012 at 2:11 PM

         To be entirely correct, the “ocelli” of larval lepidopterans are more properly called stemmata and are, like most of the caterpillar body, “throw away” structures that are broken down during pupation. The resulting “soup” provides raw material for the imaginal discs, from which all adult body structures (incl. compound eyes) are built.

         Reply
2. Emily says:

   August 28, 2012 at 2:25 PM

   Love!

   Reply
   • Ted C. MacRae says:

     August 28, 2012 at 8:59 PM

     🙂

     Reply

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