Caterpillar treats and tricks ants by oozing spiked juice
Sipping droplets changes ants’ brain chemistry, making them neglect the colony and defend the butterfly larva
![Ants with caterpillar](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/sm_juicy-caterpillar_free.jpg?fit=860%2C460&ssl=1)
BUILDING BODYGUARDS Neglecting their colony tasks, ants hang around — and defend — a Narathura japonica caterpillar that oozes droplets spiked with substances that alter ant brain chemistry.
M.K. Hojo