Amphibious caterpillar

Amphibious caterpillar refers to 12 as-yet unnamed species of caterpillars endemic to Hawaii are the only insects that live as readily in water as on land. In 2010, Daniel Rubinoff and Patrick Schmitz at the University of Hawaii at Manoa first described the amphibious habits of the larvae in the moth genus Hyposmocoma of the family Cosmopterigidae of order Gelechioidea. Young of each species thrive both underwater in rushing streams and exposed to air on rocks poking out of the water. Rubinoff states, “These species are at least as different as chimpanzees are from us”. While some other caterpillars can survive for short periods under water, they are possibly the only air-breather that can thrive exclusively there. "No other animal that breathes air can handle being submerged for a month," he says.