Today I met a fuzzy caterpillar in the forest. I said 'Hello, caterpillar friend'. Then, I paused to wonder:
(not my photo. forgot my camera.)
Can caterpillars hear? I leaned in and shouted 'HELLO FRIEND!', and still, nothing. So upon my return home I asked the magic oracle, aka Professor Google, what the deal was. Here's the deal: It is difficult to tell if a caterpillar can hear a sound or not, and we know of no caterpillars that make any noise other than chewing. The small article I found also goes on to say that once they transform into moths, studies of nerve responses have shown that they can 'perceive sound'. What does that mean? And who is doing these nerve response tests on moths??
So many questions today.
