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Dive into the heart of the rainforest to uncover how climate change is disrupting the delicate balance between caterpillars, their plants, and the parasitoids that keep them in check!

Venture deep into the rainforests of Costa Rica or Ecuador, where you’ll be captivated by the incredible variety of shapes and colors found in caterpillars, many of which are equipped with natural defenses against their predators. Some of the defenses that caterpillars have target parasitoids—wasps and flies that lay their eggs on or inside caterpillars, using them as a food source for their larvae.

Caterpillars and parasitoids live in a delicate and dynamic balance, one that climate change could destroy. This research has shown that warmer temperatures speed up caterpillar growth, meaning parasitoids can’t use them as hosts because their life cycles are out of sync. As a result, parasitoids struggle to keep up and may die off, leaving caterpillar populations unchecked. Some caterpillars can eat up to 27,000 times their body weight in just a few weeks, potentially decimating the plant populations.

The data you help gather will expand our understanding of over 9,500 species of both caterpillars and parasitoids, contributing to vital research on the impact of climate change on these delicate ecosystems. As you assist in preserving the intricate biodiversity of rainforests in Costa Rica or Ecuador, you may even find a new species—it’s happened before!