We were taught in primary school that caterpillars – the wriggly worms covered in spiky fur – become beautiful butterflies. Whilst caterpillars enjoy a pretty good reputation (think Eric Caroll and ‘The Hungry Caterpillar’), they are far more dangerous than you might imagine. Bob Holmes informs us that: “The world turns out to be home to hundreds — perhaps thousands — of species of venomous caterpillars, and at least a few of them pack a punch toxic enough to kill or permanently injure a person. That alone is reason for scientists to study them….
Caterpillars are the larval stages of the insect order Lepidoptera, the butterflies and moths. It’s just one of many animal groups with little-known venomous members. (Venoms are toxins that are deliberately injected into another animal, while poisons sit passively in an organism’s body, waiting to sicken a potential predator.) By biologists’ best estimate, venoms have evolved at least 100 times across the animal kingdom….
Though only about 2 percent of caterpillar species are venomous, by Walker’s estimate, they’re widely scattered across the lepidopteran evolutionary tree. That pattern means venom likely evolved independently several times within the group, potentially yielding an unusual diversity of chemicals. The deadly caterpillars — within the South American genus called Lonomia — have a snakelike venom that interferes with blood clotting. Others have venoms that cause chronic, lifelong inflammatory problems, and a couple cause miscarriages in horses.”
Scientist believe that there are compelling reasons to study caterpillar venom: “Though a few other caterpillar venoms have been studied at least a little, most remain almost entirely unstudied, says Walker — and medicine may be missing out. For example, he notes, most lepidopteran venoms cause pain, sometimes intense enough to require opioid painkillers. That’s not surprising, since pain is an excellent way to deter predators — but it also allows researchers to use the venom as a probe to identify pain pathways in the body and pain receptors in lab animals and, potentially, in people. That, in turn, could lead to new drugs.
Research on caterpillar venoms is still sparse enough that no new drugs have resulted yet, but venoms of other organisms have yielded some important therapies. There are blood-pressure and anticlotting medications that were inspired by snake venoms, for example, and a forerunner to the new blockbuster drug semaglutide — better known by brand names such as Ozempic and Wegovy — was based on a molecule extracted from a venomous lizard, the Gila monster.”
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