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Death Lurks in Hawaiian Forests

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posted on May, 15 2010 @ 11:01 PM
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In the Hawaiian Islands dwells a creature which exists no where else on Earth. A creature that few know of. An ambush carnivore which lies in wait for it's unsuspecting prey. With lighting speed it captures its victim then slowly devours it.

A mammal? No, there is only one native mammal here, the bat.
A reptile? There are no native land reptiles in Hawaii.
A bird perhaps? No.

It is Eupithecia, a moth. Actually the larva of the moth. That's right, a caterpillar which captures and eats live insects.



video



posted on May, 15 2010 @ 11:20 PM
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That's one mean caterpillar.


I've never heard of it before. Thank you for posting this hideous beast. (up)



posted on May, 15 2010 @ 11:33 PM
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I have read that some of the alien beings are evolutionarily changed insects.
You know, praying mantis or beetle type. I would hate to be carted off by one of these bugs.
In the video, that thing strikes faster than the frames can clip off.
What does the moth look like?



posted on May, 15 2010 @ 11:33 PM
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Indeed, a strange little creature. I can't tell from the still-shot if it's holding up it's prey, or simply snatching it out of the air.

Actually I wouldn't mind having a couple of those Eupithecia's. I would put them on my rose bushes.



posted on May, 15 2010 @ 11:55 PM
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WOW!


He's a fiesty little fella. Before I clicked on the picture I was expecting something 7ft tall, hairy, large claws, big sharp teeth, and a hunch back that would hunt Humans and and Buses.

Interesting video btw. S & F!



posted on May, 16 2010 @ 12:07 AM
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reply to post by Violater1
 

The moth is nothing special:
prh.photoresourcehawaii.com...

The Eupithecia genus is found all over the world but only in Hawaii has it become a predator (the only predatory caterpillar). Since the first of the genus arrived in the islands it has evolved into at least 18 species (in Hawaii).



posted on May, 16 2010 @ 12:27 AM
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reply to post by Phage
 


Those things are freakin' awesome.
I want an army of them, but 10 feet long with an appetite for hippies and democrats.



posted on May, 16 2010 @ 07:46 PM
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That -is- pretty cool. Don't have a whole lot to add, but thanks for sharing news of it.

I guess the thought of predatory larvae like this has never really struck me before.

[edit on 16/5/10 by Sink the Bismarck!]



posted on Jul, 20 2010 @ 03:19 AM
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reply to post by Phage
 


Awesome!

I do love my bugs, and this one is more interesting than the average! Thanks for sharing!

You should check out What's That Bug? sometime. Like ATS, It's become some of my nightly reading!


~Rainy



posted on Jul, 20 2010 @ 03:42 AM
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reply to post by Phage
 


Phage

The world is full of interesting creatures which boggle the mind sometimes....

Further to your Ambush Caterpillar/ lavae I have also read that there is another Caterpillar, native to Maui called Hyposmocoma molluscivora.
It derives it's name in recognition of its status as the first known species to hunt molluscs.

It is a FLESH-EATING caterpillar that uses spider-like silk to trap snails before devouring them alive has been found in Hawaii.

Once the larvae, which develop into moths, have tied the snails to leaves, they climb inside their shells to feast on the soft tissue.

Caterpillars are the larval stage of insects from the order Lepidoptera, which include butterflies and moths. The majority of these insects are herbivores: an estimated 150,000 Lepidoptera species are known to science, and only about 200 are predators or parasites. All caterpillars have glands capable of producing silk — the silkworm is a kind of caterpillar that will eventually grow into a moth — but none has previously been found to use it in similar fashion to spiders. The Hyposmocoma molluscivora caterpillar is about 8mm (0.3in) in length and uses its sticky silk to build a case that serves as camouflage and protection.

Finally..
STRANGE SPECIES

-At least 18 Eupithecia genus caterpillars are carnivorous and ambush prey, their tail looping back to seize it in one twelfth of a second
-Most damselfly young, called nymphs, are aquatic. Hawaii has a species whose nymphs live on land
-Many Hawaiian spider species have abandoned web-spinning, either seizing prey or, like Doryonychus raptor, impaling it in mid-flight

I observing the behaviour ad actions of insects but even I am still scared (a little) with spiders...!!

Regards

PurpleDOG UK



posted on Jul, 20 2010 @ 03:49 AM
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reply to post by PurpleDog UK
 

Thank you for the addition.

The Galapagos may have been where Darwin crystallized his ideas but compared to the Hawaiian Islands it is a sandbox. It is thought that on average, a new species arrived in the islands every 100,000 years. From each of those plants and animals the amazing variety we see evolved.

Unfortunately, many of those species have vanished and most are disappearing as we talk about it. They did not evolve to compete with the later arrivals; man and his "friends".



[edit on 7/20/2010 by Phage]




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