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Published online 21 July 2005 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news050718-11

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Caterpillars eat snails out of house and home

Hawaiian subspecies spins silk to capture prey.

Researchers have found a tiny caterpillar in the rainforests of Maui, Hawaii, that weaves silk to tie up sleeping snails. Most caterpillars feed on plants, but Hyposmocoma molluscivora feasts on the flesh of living molluscs.

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