Giant Pus Moth Caterpillar
Nine inches of bright green body with two yellow stripes running down its back, the Giant Pus Moth Caterpillar looks like something a child might pick up out of curiosity. That impulse is exactly what the caterpillar is counting on. Its head bears a prominent pattern that resembles an owl's face, a bluff designed to startle would-be predators into reconsidering. If the bluff fails, the caterpillar has a second defense that does not rely on intimidation.
Two small horns protrude from the rear of its body. When threatened, the caterpillar turns, aims, and sprays a stream of highly acidic fluid that eats through clothing, armor, and skin with equal indifference. The acid is potent enough to cause serious chemical burns on contact, and the caterpillar can fire multiple bursts before its reserves are depleted. Most predators in the outer Overgrowth have learned to leave the Giant Pus Moth Caterpillar alone. Most. The ones that have not are the reason the acid defense evolved in the first place.
For those willing to handle the risk, the caterpillar is a food source. Harvesters in the Undergrowth collect them during the caterpillar stage, when the meat is edible and the acid glands can be carefully removed. Timing matters: once the caterpillar forms its cocoon, the quality drops to nothing, and the resulting moth holds no culinary value. The window between "ripe for harvest" and "useless" is narrow, and the caterpillar does not cooperate with the schedule. Collecting them is a matter of quick hands, thick gloves, and the good sense to approach from the front where the owl-face bluff is the worst it can offer.
Two small horns protrude from the rear of its body. When threatened, the caterpillar turns, aims, and sprays a stream of highly acidic fluid that eats through clothing, armor, and skin with equal indifference. The acid is potent enough to cause serious chemical burns on contact, and the caterpillar can fire multiple bursts before its reserves are depleted. Most predators in the outer Overgrowth have learned to leave the Giant Pus Moth Caterpillar alone. Most. The ones that have not are the reason the acid defense evolved in the first place.
For those willing to handle the risk, the caterpillar is a food source. Harvesters in the Undergrowth collect them during the caterpillar stage, when the meat is edible and the acid glands can be carefully removed. Timing matters: once the caterpillar forms its cocoon, the quality drops to nothing, and the resulting moth holds no culinary value. The window between "ripe for harvest" and "useless" is narrow, and the caterpillar does not cooperate with the schedule. Collecting them is a matter of quick hands, thick gloves, and the good sense to approach from the front where the owl-face bluff is the worst it can offer.
