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Mar. 26, 2010
Tracking an Amphibious Caterpillar
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| Several newly-discovered species of caterpillar in Hawaii function equally well in water or on land. The caterpillars, all from the moth genus Hyposmocoma, "can breathe and feed indefinitely both above and below the water’s surface and can mature completely submerged or dry," wrote Daniel Rubinoff and Patrick Schmitz in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "No other insects are able to remain active indefinitely above and below water." We'll talk to Rubinoff about the caterpillars, and what makes them unique in the insect world. |
Produced by Flora Lichtman, Correspondent and Managing Editor, Video
Guests
-
Flora Lichtman
Producer, Digital Media
NPR's Science Friday
New York, New York -
Daniel Rubinoff
Professor of Entomology
Director of the University of Hawaii Insect Museum
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Honolulu, Hawaii
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