North American walnut sphinx moth caterpillars

North American walnut sphinx moth caterpillars (Amorpha juglandis) look like easy meals for birds, but they have a trick up their sleeves—they produce whistles that sound like bird alarm calls, scaring potential predators away. At first, scientists suspected birds were simply startled by the loud noise. But a new study suggests a more sophisticated mechanism: the caterpillar's whistle appears to mimic a bird alarm call, sending avian predators scrambling for cover. When pecked by a bird, the caterpillars whistle by compressing their bodies like an accordion and forcing air out through specialized holes in their sides. The whistles are impressively loud - they have been measured at over 80 dB from 5 cm away from the caterpillar - considering they are made by a two-inch long insect.

  1. North American walnut sphinx moth caterpillars will whistle periodically to ward off predator birds - they have a specialized vocal tract that helps them whistle.
  2. North American walnut sphinx moth caterpillars can whistle very loudly; the loudness of their whistles is shocking as they are very small insects.
  3. North American walnut sphinx moth caterpillars, in a case of acoustic deception, produce whistles that mimic bird alarm calls to defend themselves.
  4. North American walnut sphinx moth caterpillars, in a case of deception and camouflage, produce whistles that mimic bird alarm calls to defend themselves.

Answer

Option A cannot be the appropriate summary because it fails to mention that the walnut sphinx moth caterpillars make use of acoustic deception to ward off predators. Further, it is not stated in the paragraph that they have specialized vocal chords. Even option B fails to capture the essence of the paragraph as it does not mention the point - the acoustic deception used by the caterpillars to mimic bird alarm calls. Between options C and D, the former is appropriate as option D talks about deception and not "acoustic deception" which is employed by the birds. Further, it is not mentioned in the paragraph that the caterpillars use "camouflage" to trick the predators.

The correct option is C.