Movie 3.
Territorial encounters between neonate F. bilineata caterpillars. The first video shows a resident being approached by a conspecific intruder. The resident begins signalling and jumps off the leaf tip on a silk line when the intruder enters the territory and contacts the resident. The intruder proceeds to the feeding scar and begins feeding. Note that the ‘wobble’ sound in the background is noise from the laser vibrometer. The second part shows a resident resting being approached by a conspecific intruder and in this case the resident signals and the intruder leaves the territory.
Buzzing boundaries: tiny caterpillars vibrate to defend leaf tip territories
Journal of Experimental Biology 2025. 228:None-None; doi: 10.1242/jeb.249796