Media

Maya, Adobe Photoshop

Target Audience

General audience

Client

Marc Dryer

Description

A mock editorial cover with a creative depiction of the "bone collector" caterpillar. This caterpillar was discovered in Hawaii in 2025 by a team of researchers from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Not only is this rare caterpillar carnivorous, but it has also evolved to coexist with invasive spider species, scavenging weak or dead insect prey from cobwebs and incorporating their body parts into its silk case for camouflage. At least six known insect families have been targeted, including ants, flies, weevils, and beetles. For this reason, I chose to depict this caterpillar as a grim reaper standing in a graveyard of defeated insects.

Adapted from the following article by Daniel Rubinoff et al., 2025: Hawaiian caterpillar patrols spiderwebs camouflaged in insect prey’s body parts.