The blue caterpillar in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" had a hookah habit and the white rabbit kept looking at his pocket watch. But whereas rabbits are not obsessed about being late, some caterpillars, it seems, really do have a fondness for blowing nicotine at those who annoy them. The caterpillar in question is the hornworm, a species that eats tobacco plants without seeming to be bothered by the nicotine in the leaves. Since nicotine can work as a natural insecticide, this has led many to wonder what the caterpillars do with the toxins they consume. One clue is that some caterpillars use toxins they collect as weapons-the eastern tent caterpillar is famous for spitting hydrogen cyanide gathered from the plants it eats at its enemies.
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