Ghosts, skeletons, mummies, witches. Oh, and spiders, of course — all Halloween staples, and the stuff of nightmares. But spiders have their own nightmares.

Researchers recently discovered a Hawaiian caterpillar that lives in spiderwebs inside logs and crevices in rocks (in other words in dark, spooky places). These caterpillars scavenge around the web eating dead and dying insects that have been caught in the web. Now that’s a pretty dangerous lifestyle for a caterpillar. Stealing a spider’s prey right out of its larder takes a lot of nerve, especially if you’re a juicy caterpillar who’d make a delicious spider dinner yourself.

This caterpillar doesn’t worry too much about being eaten, though. It has an ingenious and, frankly, very Halloween way of surviving. It wears a costume! It adorns itself with leftovers from previous spider dinners—weevil heads, beetle abdomens, fly wings. This charming costume has earned this little creature the name “Bone Collector.” So I know what my Halloween costume will be.

Happy Halloween!

Avery

Image courtesy of rottonara via Pixabay