Welcome to the wonderful world of poisonous caterpillars
In South America, there are many dangerous animals and insects
but there is one that is more dangerous than all the rest.
Lonomia obliqua is very well known for its very poisonous larva
state. It has been called the assassin caterpillar and the
killer caterpillar, but really it is only the larva of the giant
silkworm moth. This chemically defending arthropod uses its
specialized bristles to harm anything that it may come in
contact with in its larva state. According to many sceptics, the
L. obliqua is considered to be in the top 25 most poisonous
animals.
Throughout this site you can learn about the
classification of the L.
obliqua and the habitat and interactions that it may be found in. Along with
that, you can learn about the adaptations that the caterpillar has developed
throughout its evolution, how the caterpillar lives and reproduces, and how
the venom is so special to this larva. Within each page you will see in text
sources which you can trace back to our reference page if you are interested
in learning more. If you are interested in learning about the authors,
Elizabeth Nakhla and Megan Buchheit, you can check out the
contact
information page.
We hope you will enjoy discovering and learning about the giant silkworm
caterpillar on our website, and check out our fellow classmates websites at
multipleorganisms.net.
To begin we start your discovery with the classifications of the Lonomia obliqua.