Want a Cozy, Free Home? Ask This Caterpillar How
As a caterpillar, a grass skipper butterfly is an architect. It builds its home by weaving skeins of silk, which the caterpillar uses to fold shut a blade of grass. After growing up inside this “grass taco,” it emerges as a fuzzy butterfly that woos a mate with flirty courtship dances.
TRANSCRIPT
With each sway of its head, this caterpillar lays a strand of silk. It’s weaving to survive.
As the silk dries, it shrinks, pulling the edges of this blade of grass together.
In just a few minutes, this butterfly babe has made its very own grass taco … a safe place to call home. And now, it’s time for its first nap.
When it grows up, it’ll get its wings. It’s a kind of butterfly called a skipper.
Look close enough and you might find one of these caterpillar homes in your backyard.
Grass skipper caterpillars build with grass.
Other skipper species use leaves, cutting and folding them to make tiny houses.
And a banana skipper rolls up banana leaves into little “cigars.”
A grass skipper caterpillar tucks into its shelter to hide from weather, parasites and predators … like paper wasps.
When it’s hungry, it ventures out for some fresh grass … like a nearby blade or even the end of its own house.
Yum, house!
And don’t worry, it keeps its place clean. Time to take out the trash!
As the caterpillar grows, it builds itself new homes. It’s making a silk pad so it won’t slip. The silk comes out of this pointy mouthpart called the spinneret.
A skipper caterpillar’s skinny neck gives it plenty of room to sway its head back and forth.
Over a few weeks, the caterpillar fills out.
Ugh, this belt is tight!
It turns into a pupa. And within weeks, an adult.
Skippers look fuzzier than your average butterfly.
You might mistake one for a moth. But most moths fly at night, and skippers fly during the day, some at dawn or dusk.
Check out their wings. See how the two sets spread out at different angles?
It makes them look like a tiny jet plane. It’s known as the bombardier position … even though skippers always come in peace.
Most butterflies keep their two sets of wings on the same plane.
Skippers’ chonky bodies are made up of strong flying muscles. They’re some of the speediest butterflies out there, skipping away from predators like birds. Yes, that is how they got their name.
They also fan their wings in flirty courtship dances. By fluttering, they spread their pheromones to attract a mate.
Males release their pheromones from a gland on their front wings – see that big splotch? It’s called a brand.
She has a gland on her backside. Maybe that’s why he keeps nudging her.
These dances can be truly acrobatic.
The male is trying to lure her with his scent.
But her fluttering is telling him he’s not her type. Literally. He’s the wrong species of grass skipper.
After she does find “the one,” she lays pinhead-sized white eggs.
The caterpillars eat through them to break free.
And they’ll go on to make a fresh batch of their very own grass tacos.
Hi, it’s Laura. Have you ever wondered why caterpillars are so dang hungry? Well, they need to stuff themselves before they transform into a chrysalis and literally lose their mouths. Watch that amazing metamorphosis in our episode. See you there!