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Another fun caterpillar thing July 21, 2016

Insect circulatory systems are weird. (From the viewpoint of a mammal, at least.) Instead of a comprehensive system of blood vessels, an insect only has an aorta that runs along the top of its body. It’s open at both ends and pumps fluid from the tail end up to the head. A week ago, I collected a big caterpillar that has very little pigmentation on the top of its body. As a result, you can see the heart pumping.