Who eats caterpillars: 3 types of natural enemies and people
In the wild, every living creature has natural enemies. Even small children know that foxes and wolves hunt hares, and birds and frogs catch flies and mosquitoes. When faced with fat, unattractive and sometimes hairy caterpillars, the logical question arises as to who might want to feast on these creatures.
Content
Who eats caterpillars
Caterpillars are part of the diet of many living creatures. This can be explained by the presence of a huge amount of nutrients in the larvae. Most often in the wild, larvae are eaten by birds, reptiles, predatory insects and some spiders.
Birds
Birds help people in the fight against many harmful insects. They eat bark beetles, aphids and are the main natural enemy of caterpillars. The main feathered helpers for humans are:
- woodpeckers. It was not in vain that they won the title of orderlies of the forest. Woodpeckers destroy many pests that destroy trees and harm other plants. These pests also include caterpillars;
- tits. These beautiful birds actively eat many types of larvae, which they find on the branches and leaves of trees. They are not scared away even by large caterpillars, densely covered with hairs;
- chiffchaffs. Small migratory birds that exterminate spiders, flies, mosquitoes and many other insects. Various types of small caterpillars also often become their victims;
- redstart. The menu of these birds includes weevils, flies, ants, bugs, spiders, ground beetles, leaf beetles, as well as various butterflies and their larvae;
- gray flycatchers. The basis of their diet is winged insects, but they are also not averse to refreshing themselves with different types of caterpillars;
- crawl. The genus of these birds is omnivorous. In the warm season, they search the trunks and branches of plants in search of insects. Caterpillars encountered on the way also often become their victims;
- pikas. These birds are avid hunters and do not change their preferences even in winter. While most birds completely switch to a vegetable diet, pikas continue to search for hibernating insects.
Reptiles
Most of the small reptiles feed on various insects. Different types of lizards and snakes are happy to eat protein-rich larvae. Since small reptiles are not able to bite and chew food, they swallow the caterpillars whole.
Predatory insects and arthropods
These small predators help people to destroy various pests, such as aphids, psyllids, bedbugs and others. Some of them include caterpillars in their diet. Miniature predators that eat caterpillars include some species of ants, beetles, wasps, and spiders.
In which countries do people eat caterpillars?
Given the nutritional value of the larvae and their high protein content, it is not at all surprising that they are eaten not only by animals, but also by people.
In some countries, maggots are a traditional dish and are sold at every corner along with other street food. Most caterpillar dishes are popular in the following countries:
- China;
- India;
- Australia;
- Botswana;
- Taiwan;
- African countries.
How do caterpillars protect themselves from enemies
In order for the caterpillars to have a chance of escaping from enemies, nature took care of them and endowed them with some features.
Some species of larvae are capable of releasing a toxic substance that can be dangerous not only for animals, but also for humans. Most often, poisonous caterpillars have a bright, conspicuous color.
There are caterpillar species that can make loud, whistling sounds. Such a whistle resembles the disturbing singing of birds and helps the larvae to scare away feathered hunters.
Most butterfly larvae are colored in such a way that they blend in with the environment as much as possible.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that the caterpillars are not particularly attractive in appearance, they are included in the menu of a huge number of living creatures. This is not at all surprising, because they contain a large amount of nutrients, perfectly satisfy hunger and saturate the body. Even in the modern world, many people continue to eat different larvae and cook various dishes from them.
