Photo courtesy Raudsepp-Hearne, et al. / Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Though caterpillars of the moth Periphoba arcaei will eat a wide variety of plants, they have also evolved a defense mechanism previously only seen in insects that specialize on eating toxic plants. They incorporate toxins from the tropical plant Vismia baccifera and advertise their unpalatability with brilliant green bodies covered in toxin-tipped hairs. (Photo courtesy Raudsepp-Hearne, et al. / Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute)
