DiscoverLife.com has photographs of all sorts of caterpillar to view, numbering 173 in its catalogue, and listing each by name and by color and defining characteristic. BackyardNature.net has extensive information on the creature that will one day spread its wings and fly like a butterfly; they place emphasis on the very commonest creatures, including the tent and question mark caterpillars. In June 2011, AsiaOne.com reported that swarms of caterpillars invaded a section of a railway track in China, delaying a cargo train for three hours.
"The train slowed down and then stopped after running over the insects. Fu Jianguo, an officer with the railway police station in Wudan, said the caterpillars spread out over one kilometer of the track in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. He said the train started running again about three hours later after more than a dozen workers cleaned up the track with brooms and shovels. "I've heard of caterpillars causing short circuits or stopping trains before, but have never actually seen such a thing," he said.
The caterpillars were probably trying to cross the railway track to seek more food, as they had already eaten up leaves on apricot trees on a hill on the eastern side of the track." EnvironmentalGraffiti.com lists the 15 most alien-looking caterpillars on the planet at www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/most-alien-looking-caterpillars-on-earth/11812, and they note that such animals are hazardous: "Not all caterpillars look alien or even cute. As a rule of thumb, the more colourful and fuzzy a caterpillar is, the more likely it is to sting if touched. So, if in doubt, hands off!"
"The train slowed down and then stopped after running over the insects. Fu Jianguo, an officer with the railway police station in Wudan, said the caterpillars spread out over one kilometer of the track in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. He said the train started running again about three hours later after more than a dozen workers cleaned up the track with brooms and shovels. "I've heard of caterpillars causing short circuits or stopping trains before, but have never actually seen such a thing," he said.
The caterpillars were probably trying to cross the railway track to seek more food, as they had already eaten up leaves on apricot trees on a hill on the eastern side of the track." EnvironmentalGraffiti.com lists the 15 most alien-looking caterpillars on the planet at www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/most-alien-looking-caterpillars-on-earth/11812, and they note that such animals are hazardous: "Not all caterpillars look alien or even cute. As a rule of thumb, the more colourful and fuzzy a caterpillar is, the more likely it is to sting if touched. So, if in doubt, hands off!"
