Those white things are wasp larvae eating this manduca caterpillar from the inside out.

Parasitic wasps lay their eggs in it. The eggs are coated with a virus that temporarily turns off the manduca's immune system. When it's immune system reboots, it is tricked into thinking that the eggs are part of the caterpillar. The eggs hatch, and they eat their way out and turn into pupae and the cycle repeats.

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[–] 60 points 2 months ago

AAAAAAAHHHHhHHHHhhHhHhHh.

That is all.

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  • [–] 46 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    Anyone who has grown tomatoes before really appreciates the wasps. The hornworm caterpillar can devastate your tomatoes crop. It's probably a terrible way to go for the caterpillar, but they are real pests.

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  • [–] 25 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    Season 2 of scavengers reign please

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  • [–] 24 points 2 months ago (5 children)

    That virus sounds useful for transplant patients 🤔

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  • [–] 13 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    Depends if the organs pop out after reboot or not...

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  • [–] 23 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    Imagine getting a kidney transplant and it eats its way out of you and turns into a giant wasp.

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  • [–] 14 points 2 months ago
    [–] 10 points 2 months ago

    Thanks I hate it

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  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    You see this - are you tempted to pick them off?

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  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago
    [–] 1 point 2 months ago

    That's metal af, tbh.

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