Once Upon a Time...

Once upon a time, there was a redhumped caterpillar gorging on the leaves of a redbud tree.

For three days, the hungry caterpillar gobbled the leaves, like an insect version of Pac-Man. It snipped, shredded and skeletonized the leaves and then went for more.

On the fourth day, it lay motionless, entangled in a spider web.

On the fifth day, the lifeless redhumped caterpillar (Schizura concinna) came back to "life," in the form of Argentine ants gorging on its carcass.

Life and death in the garden...