Caterpillar drama
When caterpillars collide
Put two champion eaters in one habitat and sooner or later they’ll meet — usually at full speed, usually over food. In this video (watch to the end, trust us) a monarch caterpillar plows straight over a swallowtail caterpillar in what can only be described as an epic tiny wildlife battle.
Nobody got hurt: caterpillars are built like soft tanks, and the swallowtail had a secret weapon it chose not to use — a bright orange, forked scent horn called an osmeterium that pops out when it’s truly threatened and smells like old pineapple. The real lesson for keepers: give everybody space and more host plant than you think they need. Caterpillars don’t share. They conquer.