Some parasites alter the behaviour of their hosts. The larvae of the parasitic wasp Cotesia congregata develop within the body of the caterpillar Manduca sexta During the initial phase of wasp development, the host's behaviour remains unchanged. However, once the wasps begin to scrape their way out of the caterpillar, the caterpillar host stops feeding and moving spontaneously. We found that th...

Caterpillar recently embarked on an ambitious program to radically change how it markets and sells key products of its Building Construction Products division (BCP). The goal was to move from a strict build-toorder strategy, in which customers selected one of millions of possible configurations, to a Lane Strategy in which the majority of their customers would choose machines from just over 100...

Plants exhibit remarkable plasticity in their ability to differentiate between herbivorous insect species and subtly adjust their defense responses to target distinct pests. One key mechanism used by plants to recognize herbivorous caterpillars is elicitors present in their oral secretions; however, these elicitors not only cause the induction of plant defenses but recent evidence suggests that...

Background Thaumetopoea pityocampa Schiff., or pine caterpillar, is a “phenomenal” insect. The term comes from the Greek cámpa (caterpillar), pítys (pine), poieo (does), tháuma (wonders) [1]. When developing larvae, is taking place on the back of the caterpillar pine processionary, a producer apparatus urticating hairs, protectors caterpillars [2]. These hairs of the pine processionary caterpil...

BACKGROUND Approximately 150 species of Lepidoptera have been described as causing damage to human skin. One of these species is the pine processionary caterpillar, which is responsible for dermatitis, contact urticaria, ocular lesions and rarely respiratory signs and anaphylactic reactions through IgE-mediated or non-IgE-mediated mechanisms. We report a pediatric case of severe orofacial edema...

Climate change has already impacted ecosystems and species and substantial impacts of climate change in the future are expected. Species distribution modeling is widely used to map the current potential distribution of species as well as to model the impact of future climate change on distribution of species. Mapping current distribution is useful for conservation planning and understanding the...

We discuss the case of a 52-year-old woman who developed urticarial lesions after the acute envenomation of a puss caterpillar (Megalopyge opercularis). The puss caterpillar, one of more than 50 species of caterpillars that can cause envenomation in the United States, is considered to be one of the most serious. Its clinical presentation and current recommended treatments are reviewed.