Gypsy moth caterpillars can be infected by viruses that kill in a very interesting way. Read the article and comment about how the viruses work and why it's an adaptation that was successful.
The baculoviruses cause a condition called Wipfelkrankheit (tree top disease) on the caterpillars that makes them climb to the top of the tree and die. The gene "egt" inactivates 20E which is a moulting process for the caterpillar. It makes the caterpillar climb up to a high position to moult. Instead of moulting though, the caterpillar dies instead probably due to the 20E being inactivated. The adaption is successful because the viruses from the dead caterpillars can easily spread by wind, they might contaminate the eggs, and since female gypsy moths don't fly, they walk over the viruses and have a very high chance of catching the viruses themselves. Since the virus can spread so easily, it can infect many other bugs as well.
The baculoviruses cause a condition called Wipfelkrankheit (tree top disease) on the caterpillars that makes them climb to the top of the tree and die. The gene "egt" inactivates 20E which is a moulting process for the caterpillar. It makes the caterpillar climb up to a high position to moult. Instead of moulting though, the caterpillar dies instead probably due to the 20E being inactivated. The adaption is successful because the viruses from the dead caterpillars can easily spread by wind, they might contaminate the eggs, and since female gypsy moths don't fly, they walk over the viruses and have a very high chance of catching the viruses themselves. Since the virus can spread so easily, it can infect many other bugs as well.
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