Does a Caterpillar Drink Water, Eat Leaves and Need Sunlight to Survive?

Feeding

• Caterpillars have voracious appetites, eating constantly while awake. These herbivorous larvae feed on leaves from a host plant, to which they attach themselves. Each species of caterpillar has a favored host plant and will eat only the leaves of that plant. If they are deprived of food, they will quickly die; they are also vulnerable to toxins in the material they eat.

Water

• Water is an essential material to sustain life, but a caterpillar does not need to drink water directly from a water source. Instead, the caterpillar consumes all the water it needs from the leaves and plant material that it eats. Water is an important component of these food sources.

Sunlight

• Caterpillars do not need direct sunlight to survive. Caterpillars can live in the shade of trees or in other areas out of direct sunlight. Caterpillars can also live indoors; you can keep a caterpillar alive in a ventilated jar, provided it has the right leaves to eat.

Keeping a Caterpillar

• If its food source disappears, a caterpillar will move away and begin the search for more food. Caterpillars avoid water, which will drown them if they cannot escape from it. A good place to keep a caterpillar is a terrarium so you can observe its molting and development into a butterfly. You need to clean the enclosure regularly and prevent any buildup of condensation or heavy moisture. A twig or small stick should also be provided; the caterpillar will attach itself to the stick before it molts.