Mother Nature can be a pretty tricky lady sometimes! Some of the fantastic creatures that roam the earth today are simply amazing! Like this slithering green snake…
Doesn’t look like anything very special does it? Well, look again
Do you see it now? It’s not a snake at all, but a rather interesting caterpillar that looks like a snake!
This snake caterpillar is part of the hemeroplanes species found in Latin America. Unlike a lot of other caterpillars, this little guy doesn’t try to make himself blend in and appear unimportant. Instead, he works pretty hard to give the illusion that he is way more threatening than he actually is.
Hemeroplane caterpillars don’t always look like snakes. When not disturbed, they look a lot like other caterpillars, just harmlessly munching on leaves and going about their little caterpillar lives. But, poke at one or make it feel threatened, and this is what you get…
To create the illusion of a snake’s head this type of caterpillar will rear up off of its perch and expand the end of its body. These little guys will even go as far as imitating a snake’s striking motion when trying to scare away predators. Of course, they don’t have a mouth or fangs, but I imagine that it’s still pretty scary to some predators! Being a caterpillar that looks like a snake is probably enough to keep most predators at bay.
What did you think of this caterpillar that looks like a snake? If you want to see another awesome camouflaged nature illusion, be sure to check out the chameleon that looks like a leaf!
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