Sirui Ma
- Snail
- 2023
- photograph
- courtesy of the artist
Caterpillars often grow up surrounded by ants. They employ chemical and acoustic signals to manipulate their entourage into liking and protecting them.44 A sweet secretion is used to reward the guardians for their services. 45,46
- Caterpillars have developed several dedicated organs specifically for appeasing and attracting ants.
- While many caterpillars are content to trade sugar for safety, others betray their hosts by feasting on the colony’s young.
- Pierce et al., 2002