Ripped from the pages of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland,” scientists have discovered a smoking caterpillar of sorts.
While this find may not push Alice’s hookah-smoking insect from its psychedelic pedestal, this caterpillar is pretty snazzy, as it can use nicotine to ward off hungry wolf spiders.
The researchers found a gene in hornworm caterpillars that allows them to puff nicotine out through their spiracles (tiny holes in their sides), from the tobacco they consume, as a warning to their would-be predators. Researchers called this tactic “defensive halitosis.”
‘Smoking Caterpillar’ Puffs Out Nicotine To Deter Spiders, New Research Shows (VIDEO)
January 8, 2014
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