Substrate Silking To Facilitate Steadfastness
Caterpillars spin copious quantities of silk as they move over the branches of their host plants. The silk of some species contains a pheromone which channels the movement of the colony as they move from place to place. In other species, a trail pheromone is secreted independently of the silk. In either case, a primary function of the silk appears to be that of enhancing steadfastness as the caterpillars move over the smooth surfaces of the host plant
Read more about this topic: Social Caterpillars
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