Stinging secret: research reveals how venom from Australian caterpillars could be used in medicines.
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Stinging secret: research reveals how venom from Australian caterpillars could be used in medicines. The venom of a native Australian caterpillar contains compounds that could be used in medicines and pest control, new analysis has found. Caterpillars of the mottled cup moth, commonly found in eastern Australia, have a complex venom made up of 151 separate toxins, according to new research published in the journal PNAS. Dr Andrew Walker of the University of Queensland, who is the study’s first author, explained the caterpillar has clusters of sharp stinging spines that it displays when disturbed. “It tucks away its spines when it doesn’t think it needs them,” he said. “We think this is so that it preserves the venom. If you just lightly brush up against one, you will get a very noticeable envenomation,” Walker said. The caterpillar’s spines inject liquid venom into anything that contacts it, resulting in a sharp or burning pain similar to a bee sting. The scientific name for ...