![]() ![]() Other caterpillars acquire toxins from their host plants that render them unpalatable to most of their predators. However some birds (such as cuckoos) will swallow even the hairiest of caterpillars. These measures include having spiny bristles or long fine hair-like setae with detachable tips that will irritate by lodging in the skin or mucous membranes. More aggressive self-defense measures are taken by some caterpillars. Some Geometridae cover themselves in plant parts, while bagworms construct and live in a bag covered in sand, pebbles or plant material. Some look like objects in the environment such as bird droppings. Caterpillars may even have spines or growths that resemble plant parts such as thorns. The differential development is linked to the tannin content in the diet. If they hatch in the summer they appear dark colored, like oak twigs. If the caterpillars hatch in the spring and feed on oak catkins they appear green. An example of caterpillars that use camouflage for defense is the species Nemoria arizonaria. Many caterpillars are cryptically colored and resemble the plants on which they feed. Others may mimic dangerous caterpillars or other animals while not being dangerous themselves. Some types of caterpillars are indeed poisonous or distasteful and their bright coloring warns predators of this. The appearance of a caterpillar can often repel a predator: its markings and certain body parts can make it seem poisonous, or bigger in size and thus threatening, or non-edible. The spiny bristles are a self-defense mechanism
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