John E. Woodmansee Photo: Tobacco hornworm on a tomato plant that has been attacked by a parasitic Braconid wasp. The white capsules on its back are the pupal stage of the tiny wasp. Braconid larvae ...

When a caterpillar hatches from its egg, it spends the first few weeks of its life eating as much as it physically can. Then, it hangs itself upside down from a leaf or stem and sheds its outer skin ...