Is there a caterpillar equivalent of the Darwin Awards? Because this guy is a shoo-in.
The Redditors who found this video have speculated that the caterpillar is infected with a mind-control parasite that needs to get inside the toad to thrive. Sounds crazy, yes, but there’s a parasite that’s been doing something similar to carpenter ants for millions of years. And a whole bevy of parasites control their hosts’ minds in other creepy ways.
The Huffington Post says that our Very Foolish Caterpillar may not even be a caterpillar:
From the video, it’s unclear exactly what type of caterpillar is featured. And it’s even possible the insect isn’t a caterpillar at all. The larvae of the Sawfly, which have black and yellow coloring similar to the caterpillar in the video, have been known to “dance” when they are trying to ward off predators, the Daily Mail notes.
If warding off predators is what this fella was going for, it really didn’t work so well.
