Another amazing animal from Hawaii – a completely amphibious caterpillar (published in the March 22 PNAS). While there are a few aquatic Lepidoptera, all of them have gills that keep them restricted to the water (mind you, we are talking only about the larval stage). If their stream dries up, so does the caterpillar. The novel adaptation in these insects is the ability to live comfortably, and apparently indefinitely, on dry land or submerged in fresh water – a trait distinctive to these 12 new species of Hyposmocoma (Cosmopterigidae). This is unique not only to Insects, but to all known animals. There are, of course, amphibians. But unlike these caterpillars they require moisture to survive and often desiccate rapidly. Hyposmocoma thrive in desert like conditions, or submerged for weeks. Not only were 12 different species discovered (that are also the first known caterpillars to eat snails), but it even appears as if this amphibious ability has evolved three separate times. Clearly the selective pressures on small lepidoptera in these areas are extreme.
The Lepidoptera as a whole have evolved a full range of adaptations, including species that are parasitic, detritivorous, fungivorous, endophagous, carnivorous (also on Hawaii), aquatic and now fully amphibious. Hummm, sounds like a bad song (to this music). Clearly, leps are cooler than any other order.
Perhaps if I were Rubinoff I may have named one moth Hyposmocoma aquamana. Of course, Aquaman was pretty worthless on the land… so maybe it should have been H. potioaquamana (potio- coming from the Latin for superior or more effective).
