Caterpillars are weird looking things, but generally not dangerous or  threatening visually or otherwise.

However if you were to get close to this particular caterpillar in Costa Rica, it would tuck its legs into its body and expand its tail, which has markings that make it look just like the face of a pissed off snake.

Amazingly, it even knows how to behave like a snake; pretending to strike if approached, though it can’t actually bite you.

The creature was discovered and photographed by Professor Daniel Janzen from the University of Pennsylvania while he was tracking caterpillas in Central America. He says the disguise has evolved to keep predators at bay so the caterpillas may have a greater chance of reaching the moth stage of its life. It’s crazy to think a caterpillar can recognise how intimidating the back end of its body looks when puffed out and is intelligent enough to take advantage of it.

Incredible:

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