When Darlyne Murawski first came face to face with a spiny, transparent caterpillar in Costa Rica, she accidentally brushed its spines with the back of her hand and was injected with a stinging chemical. She didn't stop screaming for 20 minutes. But that didn't stop her from getting her picture. Or from going back for more. In "Eye to Eye with Caterpillars", Darlyne introduces readers to the magnificent world of caterpillars (to date, 17,000 species of butterflies and 145,000 species of moths world-wide). 'To eat but not be eaten is the name of the game'. Most caterpillars eat leaves, but some carnivores prefer bugs - and can catch them in surprising ways. Caterpillars are low on the food chain, which means many of them have managed to develop the most incredible defenses. Some look just like poisonous snakes. Some, called leaf rollers, make themselves hiding places in leaves they stitch together with silk. Others rely on camouflage - there are twig look-alikes, leaf mimics, flower mimics, and more. Some even spit acid into the eyes of their predators. Darlyne's caterpillar stories and fun facts are enthralling. Her pictures are stunning in their range of color and composition and incredible variety. Through fun sidebars, she also offers concrete tips on how to spot caterpillars.
