Virus Makes Gypsy Moth Caterpillars Climb to the Tops of Trees and Liquefy

Posted on September 8, 2011

A baculovirus makes gypsy moth caterpillars climb to the tops of trees. Healthy Gypsy moth caterpillars only like to come out at night, but infected gypsy moth caterpillars will climb zombie-like in the daylight. The virus is known Wipfelkrankheit or "tree top disease." The caterpillar then dies at the top of the tree and liquefies, releasing millions of virus particles that spread throughout the tree and infect other gypsy moth larvae.

The top photograph shows several caterpillars heading for their treetop death. You can see a photo of a liquefying caterpillar below.

A team of researchers have identified a specific viral gene, called egt, that drives the infected caterpillars to die.

Dr. Kelli Hoover of Pennsylvania State University, the leader of the research team, told National Geographic, "Somehow or other, using this gene, the virus is able to manipulate the behavior of the caterpillar to go to the right location in the tree to enhance transmission to new hosts. It's really amazing."

The research was reported in an article in Science, a journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, published on Sept. 9.



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