Latest news with #DanielRubinoff
Yomiuri Shimbun
22-05-2025
- Science
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Bone Collector Caterpillar Wears Body Parts of Dead Prey
Rubinoff lab, Entomology Section, University of Hawaii at Manoa / Handout via Reuters Six specimens of a newly identified carnivorous caterpillar species nicknamed the 'bone collector' are seen in this image released by the University of Hawaii at Manoa on April 24. In a remote and lushly forested area of a single mountain range on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, scientists have discovered a carnivorous caterpillar species that makes a living in such a macabre way that they have nicknamed it the 'bone collector.' The caterpillar prowls spider webs to scavenge trapped and helpless victims such as ants, beetles, weevils and flies, the researchers said. The crafty caterpillar camouflages itself from the spider, which would happily eat it, by hiding its body inside a case it fashions from its own silk and adorns it with inedible body parts that it collected from the dead insects. Through metamorphosis, this caterpillar eventually turns into its adult form, a moth with a brown and white coloration. Caterpillars are the moth's larval stage, with a segmented and worm-like body. This is the world's only known caterpillar to live with and benefit from spiders, according to Daniel Rubinoff, a professor of entomology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and lead author of the study published last month in the journal Science. Its grisly behavior would seem well suited for a crime novel. But it represents an example of the creative paths that our planet's living organisms take to survive and thrive. 'They need to hide in a tapestry of bug parts to stay alive in the spider's lair,' Rubinoff said. 'I think it's actually a hero,' Rubinoff said. 'It truly lives 'in the lion's den,' hiding out with a spider and using the spider's web to provide it with food and probably shelter. The caterpillar will attack prey that can't get away but is itself very slow and bumbling, trailing a large [silk] case behind it.' The caterpillars consume weakened or dead insects they encounter in webs spun by spiders in tree hollows and rock crevices. 'So it's probably getting the leftovers after the spider has fed,' Rubinoff said. They even resort to cannibalism, attacking other caterpillars of the same species. The 'Bone Collector' was the nickname of a serial killer in author Jeffery Deaver's 1997 novel 'The Bone Collector' and subsequent 1999 film of the same name. So how did this caterpillar come to share this notorious nickname? 'I think the term is out there in the ether, and just fit with what these caterpillars are doing. It's a bit tongue in cheek because arthropods don't actually have bones,' Rubinoff said. Arthropods are the massive assemblage of invertebrates that include insects and spiders, as well as crustaceans. The researchers said the 'bone collector' inhabits a patch of mountain forest spanning just 15 square kilometers in the Waianae mountain range. Rubinoff said this caterpillar has a very precarious existence. Only 62 individuals have been observed in two decades of fieldwork. 'Invasive species are the main threat now. Even in protected areas, Hawaii is losing native species due to invasive species taking over habitats and turning them into biological deserts that look like forests but are largely unavailable to native species,' Rubinoff said. The caterpillar, a previously unknown species, is a member of a group of moths called Hyposmocoma native to Hawaii that includes hundreds of species and arose about 12 million years ago. The researchers believe the 'bone collector' comes from a lineage more than 5 million years old. The overwhelming majority of caterpillars eat vegetation. Predatory caterpillars globally comprise less than 0.13% of the planet's nearly 200,000 moth and butterfly species. And among those, the 'bone collector' is the only one known to find food the way it does, making it unique among the world's animals. 'The more we can understand how the world around us works, the better off we will be,' Rubinoff said.
CBC
02-05-2025
- Science
- CBC
Wild fish can tell us apart, and more...
The 'bone collector' caterpillar covers itself with body partsIt's like something from a horror movie. A creeping, carnivorous creature that in a macabre attempt at disguise and protection, covers itself with the dismembered remains of dead insects. This super-rare caterpillar is one of the strangest insects in the world. It lives on spider webs inside of trees and rock crevices in a 15 square kilometre radius on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu. Daniel Rubinoff, from the University of Hawaii Insect Museum, found about 62 of these caterpillars over the past 20 years. Their research was published in the journal Science. If a dolphin pees in the water, does anybody know it?Researchers observing river dolphins in Brazil were first surprised to see the animals turning on their backs and urinating into the air, and then further amazed to see other dolphins sampling the falling stream. The Canadian and Brazilian team, led by Claryana Araújo-Wang from the CetAsia Research Group, believe this aerial urination may be a way to communicate dominance among males. The research was published in the journal Behavioural Processes. How the snowball Earth made life bloom on our planet700 million years ago our planet was frozen from pole to pole during a period known as snowball Earth. Glaciers at that time scoured deep into the continents below like a giant bulldozer, grinding the rock into fine sediments. In a new study in the journal Geology, scientists found that as the glaciers melted, a lot of that loose material was injected very rapidly into the oceans. Branden Murphy, from St. Francis Xavier University, said this chemical cocktail fertilized the oceans, and set the stage for rise of multicellular complex life on Earth. How a team of microbiologists use cars to sample air across the countryUnderstanding the distribution of bacteria that might be a concern for human or animal health across an entire country is a huge job. But a team from Laval used a very clever shortcut to gather their data. They collected car air filters from vehicles across the nation, and looked in them to see what they sucked up. They found regional differences in the antimicrobial resistance genes specific to the agricultural activities and environmental factors at each location. Paul George, from Laval University, was the lead researcher on the study published in the journal Environmental DNA. Albertan obsidian artifacts are the end point of a widespread Indigenous trade networkObsidian — volcanic glass used to make super-sharp tools — is found as artifacts from chips to blades to arrowheads at hundreds of sites across the Rockies of Alberta and B.C., dating back thousands of years. However, there are no volcanos in the area so archaeologists are using this volcanic glass to chart Indigenous trade routes through North America. New research, led by Timothy Allan of Ember Archeology, has traced the obsidian's point of origin to a site nearly 1,000 kilometres away, suggesting the material travelled over long distances and passed through many hands. The research was published in the Journal of Field Archaeology. Do his gills ring a bell? Fish can recognize humansScientists at a Mediterranean research station kept noticing that particular fish would follow them around whenever they would try and do experiments. To find out if the fish were actually capable of recognizing individual humans, a team from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany decided to turn this annoying behaviour into a scientific experiment. They found that the fish were indeed capable of remembering which humans had shared tasty treats in the past. The research was published in the journal Biology Letters.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Extremely Metal "Bone Collector" Caterpillar Cloaks Itself in the Shattered Exoskeletons of Its Vanquished Foes
A newly discovered species of caterpillar in Hawaii is unlike any other. It's carnivorous — already an extreme rarity for these generally benign creatures — and when it's not devouring its helpless foes, it's cloaking itself in a gruesome canvas of their body parts. Oh, did we also mention it's occasionally a cannibal? Taking trophies ranging from entire heads to molted exoskeletons, there's a reason why scientists have nicknamed it the "bone collector." As detailed in a study published in the journal Science, the caterpillars favor lurking in spider webs hidden from view, like in a tree hollow or rock cavity, where they strip the corpses of insects ensnared in the silk traps, and daringly avoid the detection of the arachnids that interred them there. And the caterpillars get away with it thanks to their macabre costumes, disguising them as the dead insects while also making them appear unappetizing to predators. "We started realizing these things are only hanging out where there are spiders," lead author Daniel Rubinoff, an entomologist at the University of Hawaii, told Ars Technica. "It's the sort of thing you really want to be sure of because it's not just incredible, it's unimaginable." "It is remarkable that a caterpillar would tie its fate to a spider — a clear and present danger for both caterpillar and moth alike," echoed David Wagner, an entomologist at the University of Connecticut who was not involved in the study, to the New York Times. The bone collector belongs to a genus of moths found in Hawaii called Hyposcoma, which are known for spinning protective cases of silk when they're larva. In this case, the silk is used to weave the body parts together, forming a sort of portable cocoon. Rubinoff first stumbled across a specimen in 2008, and has since worked to prove that the caterpillars are an entirely new species. Bone collectors are found exclusively in the Wai'anae Mountains on the island of O'ahu, and are exceedingly rare. To date, more than 150 field surveys in the area have yielded only 62 specimens, per the NYT. The bodypart camouflage may look random and haphazard, but it's apparently a carefully curated outfit. Somewhere between mortician and tailor, a bone collector will use its mandibles to cut a beetle carapace here and an ant limb there down to size, and are notably picky when it comes to choosing what to add to their suits (though what informs its fashion choices is unclear). In a lab, bone collectors ignored random detritus and went straight for the dead stuff, showing that they were "able to discern differences in objects in their environment," Rubinoff told the NYT. But they ate practically any insect. By studying the caterpillar's genetics, Rubinoff and his team revealed that the species likely emerged at least five million years ago, which is older than O'ahu itself. Because it has no relatives of the same lineage, the researchers believe its original home was another island that's since been swallowed by the ocean, per Ars. Resourceful as they are, the bone collectors are tragically being threatened by a surge of invasive bug species, and could face extinction. "I don't want to say it's on the verge of winking out, but in the context, it seems likely," Rubinoff told Ars. "We've lost entire genera of endemic insects [in Hawaii]. It could be one new ant species away from being obliterated." More on wildlife: Scientists Take First Ever Video of Colossal Squid in the Wild... With One Comical Issue
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Meet the 'Bone Collector' Caterpillar: A Rare Hawaiian Insect That Wears Its Prey and Lives Among Spiders
A rare Hyposmocoma caterpillar, nicknamed the "bone collector," discovered in Oʻahu, Hawaii, uses dead insect parts to disguise itself on spider webs The newly identified species is carnivorous and cannibalistic, with a highly specialized habitat limited to just 5.8 square miles Scientists warn the caterpillar is at risk due to invasive species and climate change threatening its already fragile ecosystem In the secluded forests of Oʻahu, Hawaii, scientists have discovered a truly astonishing insect — one that not only hunts its fellow arthropods, but wears them. Documented in a new study published in Science on Thursday, April 25, the insect is a newly described species within the Hyposmocoma genus, known for its bizarre behaviors and evolutionary surprises. Nicknamed the "bone collector," this rare caterpillar is as elusive as it is eerie, and may be unlike anything the scientific world has seen before. The caterpillar cloaks itself in the body parts of dead insects, crafting a protective casing out of the remains to camouflage itself while lurking on spider webs. This survival tactic seems to allow the caterpillar to sneak past the very creatures that should be its predators: spiders. Related: Creepy Fish Species Invades U.S. Waters, Now Residents are Being Told to Kill the Creature on Sight Researchers, led by entomologist Dr. Daniel Rubinoff of the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, believe the insect's gruesome disguise helps it hide in plain sight, feeding on prey caught in the web, sometimes even unwrapping the spider's own leftovers. 'It is possible the array of partially consumed body parts and shed spider skins covering the case forms effective camouflage from a spider landlord,' researchers wrote, per Science Alert. 'The caterpillars have never been found predated by spiders or wrapped in spider silk.' Essentially, the spiders have never been observed attacking or eating these caterpillars. Another unusual trait is the caterpillar's exclusive choice of insect parts or spider exoskeletons for their casing, rather than natural materials like bark or leaves, when tested in a lab. Another jaw-dropping characteristic is their cannibalistic tendencies, as researchers found that they would eat any slow-moving insect placed in front of them, even each other. 'It is remarkable that a caterpillar would tie its fate to a spider — a clear and present danger for both caterpillar and moth alike,' Dr. David Wagner, an entomologist at the University of Connecticut, explained to the New York Times, calling the caterpillar's reliance on the spiders one of nature's most improbable connections. (Wagner was not involved in the study.) Since Dr. Rubinoff first encountered the species in 2008 inside a tree hollow, his team has conducted more than 150 field surveys and found only 62 bone collector specimens. The caterpillar is now known to exist in a single forested mountain range, covering just 15 square kilometers (about 5.8 square miles). Genetic analysis shows that this species may have diverged from its carnivorous cousins over five million years ago, predating the formation of the island of Oʻahu itself. That means its ancestors likely inhabited other Hawaiian islands before becoming isolated on the mountainside where it now survives. Related: Study Finds Dolphins Can Make Human Vowel Sounds as Experts Launch AI-Powered Dolphin Translation Of course, survival is far from guaranteed. The bone collector's habitat is increasingly under threat from invasive ants, parasitic wasps, and the ever-present pressure of environmental change due to climate change and human disturbances. While the caterpillar appears adaptable — it lives on the webs of at least four non-native spider species — its narrow range and complex behavior make it particularly vulnerable. "Without conservation attention, it is likely that the last living representative of this lineage of carnivorous, body part-collecting caterpillars that has adapted to a precarious existence among spider webs will disappear," researchers wrote, per Science Alert. Read the original article on People
CNA
25-04-2025
- Science
- CNA
Hawaii's 'bone collector' caterpillar wears the body parts of dead prey
In a remote and lushly forested area of a single mountain range on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, scientists have discovered a carnivorous caterpillar species that makes a living in such a macabre way that they have nicknamed it the "bone collector." The caterpillar prowls spider webs to scavenge trapped and helpless victims such as ants, beetles, weevils and flies, the researchers said. The crafty caterpillar camouflages itself from the spider, which would happily eat it, by hiding its body inside a case it fashions from its own silk and adorns it with inedible body parts that it collected from the dead insects. Through metamorphosis, this caterpillar eventually turns into its adult form, a moth with a brown and white coloration. Caterpillars are the moth's larval stage, with a segmented and worm-like body. This is the world's only known caterpillar to live with and benefit from spiders, according to Daniel Rubinoff, a professor of entomology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and lead author of the study published this week in the journal Science. Its grisly behavior would seem well suited for a crime novel. But it represents an example of the creative paths that our planet's living organisms take to survive and thrive. "They need to hide in a tapestry of bug parts to stay alive in the spider's lair," Rubinoff said. "I think it's actually a hero," Rubinoff said. "It truly lives 'in the lion's den,' hiding out with a spider and using the spider's web to provide it with food and probably shelter. The caterpillar will attack prey that can't get away but is itself very slow and bumbling, trailing a large (silk) case behind it." The caterpillars consume weakened or dead insects they encounter in webs spun by spiders in tree hollows and rock crevices. "So it's probably getting the leftovers after the spider has fed," Rubinoff said. They even resort to cannibalism, attacking other caterpillars of the same species. The "Bone Collector" was the nickname of a serial killer in author Jeffery Deaver's 1997 novel "The Bone Collector" and subsequent 1999 film of the same name. So how did this caterpillar come to share this notorious nickname? "I think the term is out there in the ether, and just fit with what these caterpillars are doing. It's a bit tongue in cheek because arthropods don't actually have bones," Rubinoff said. Arthropods are the massive assemblage of invertebrates that include insects and spiders, as well as crustaceans. The researchers said the "bone collector" inhabits a patch of mountain forest spanning just 5.8 square miles (15 square km) in the Waianae mountain range. Rubinoff said this caterpillar has a very precarious existence. Only 62 individuals have been observed in two decades of fieldwork. "Invasive species are the main threat now. Even in protected areas, Hawaii is losing native species due to invasive species taking over habitats and turning them into biological deserts that look like forests but are largely unavailable to native species," Rubinoff said. The caterpillar, a previously unknown species, is a member of a group of moths called Hyposmocoma native to Hawaii that includes hundreds of species and arose about 12 million years ago. The researchers believe the "bone collector" comes from a lineage more than 5 million years old. The overwhelming majority of caterpillars eat vegetation. Predatory caterpillars globally comprise less than 0.13 per cent of the planet's nearly 200,000 moth and butterfly species. And among those, the "bone collector" is the only one known to find food the way it does, making it unique among the world's animals. "The more we can understand how the world around us works, the better off we will be," Rubinoff said.
