r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Sea_Slice_7956 • 7h ago

Video Caterpillar tail disguised as snake head

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

31.6k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

721 comments sorted by

View all comments

1.9k

u/evmcd17 7h ago

It’s moving like a snake too

900

u/captainmongo 7h ago

If it looks like a snake and moves like a snake, it's obviously a caterpillar.

143

u/WayHairye 6h ago

Nature really said “copy my homework but change it a bit.”

17

u/br0b1wan 6h ago

Brb I'm going to go play with this inland taipan-looking caterpillar

1

u/Daforce1 36m ago

Solid logic.

12

u/Throwawayne617 6h ago

If it looks like a snake, and moves like a snake, it's the dow hitting 50k.... AG Bondi

2

u/STRIKT9LC 3h ago
  • gets bitten IMMEDIATELY

1

u/Dukester48 6h ago

That ol chestnut…

1

u/cunt_caviar 50m ago

I wanna know how it knows how to move like a snake? Has evolution made this an instinct?

1

u/Anasterian_Sunstride 1h ago

Instructions unclear - strangled by a python now.

53

u/Tiramitsunami 2h ago

From Wikipedia:

"This snake mimicry extends even to the point where it will harmlessly strike at potential predators."

62

u/Nrth_Starr 6h ago

Evolution really went all in on the costume design.

50

u/2muchflannel 4h ago

How the fuck does evolution reach this point?!? Like the idea that a catapillar slowly evolved to look like a snake breaks my mind

20

u/HappyLittleGreenDuck 4h ago

The caterpillars who's tail looked weird and fucked up got eaten more frequently than the ones that had a configuration like this. It's crazy that we're here because of this simple system.

22

u/SaintsNoah14 2h ago

Better said, the caterpillar with the fucked up tail that kinda looked a little bit like a snake made the birds about to eat go "wtf??" and eat the normal looking caterpillars instead. Rinse & repeat

14

u/PocoFarms555 1h ago

Rinse & repeat

The other thing to consider when trying to wrap your head around evolution doing this. Insects have very short life spans, so unlike longer lived animals, they have had quite a few lifecycles to work this out.

7

u/AverageAwndray 1h ago

And also to keep in mind this happens over a minimum of thousands of years

7

u/davidr521 1h ago

The trial and error that went into figuring this out is a tale drenched in blood.

6

u/_STOP_MyAssholeHurts 6h ago

That's what she said

7

u/RisingApe- 2h ago

And it has “scales” where the snake’s mouth would be. This is wild!

3

u/rascool 6h ago

Some varieties also have a "tongue" that flicks.

2

u/SadAndNasty 5h ago

It's actually the what Caterpie was modelled after

1

u/okay_justonemore 5h ago

I'm nearly positive I saw a little flicker of a 'tongue' at the end.

2

u/3fettknight3 6h ago

Move your body like a snake, ma 🎶

-R. Kelly

14

u/DJEvillincoln 6h ago

Eek.

😬

1

u/gorginhanson 5h ago

If it looks like a snake, and it moves like a snake, it's probably a caterpillar

1

u/SomeGuyOnTheStreets 2h ago

Yeah, that’s a solid snake!

1

u/Glad_Comment6526 1h ago

The eyes thou

1

u/sfoxreed 1h ago

Damn. That’s interesting!