Caterpillars

The majority of people are immediately surprised that a caterpillar is one of the 10 Predators of Ants that Eat Ants because it is a herbivorous animal when they see one. Although some caterpillars like munching on leaves, other types of caterpillars feed on newly hatched eggs and young ants. The majority of ants won't be able to bite into the delicate flesh of some caterpillars because of their strong carapaces. It is simple for most caterpillars to deceive ants since they often rely on their sense of smell to determine whether something is an ant or another bug. Caterpillars like the Alcol Blue Caterpillar will impersonate an ant to gain freedom and access to the colony's young ants.

Some species' attendant ants have been shown to exhibit slowed locomotor activity as a result of the secretions from dew patches and nectar glands, which have been demonstrated to change the levels of neurotransmitters, notably dopamine, in their brains. As a result, the ants become even more devoted to the caterpillars and more aggressive toward their parasites and predators. In these situations, it is preferable to think of these ostensibly mutualistic relationships as reciprocal parasitisms, where natural selection may transform each partner's outsmarting tactics into a complex coevolutionary arms race.

When the number of tending ants is too high or the caterpillar wants to move, it rhythmically everts a pair of tentacle organs or touches organs to fend off the ants. Caterpillars are guided toward ant aggregations by ciliary tufts at the ends of these organs, which also contain ant pheromone receptors.