Can a caterpilllar be a predator because it preys on a mulberry leaf?

Question

Can a caterpilllar be a predator because it preys on a mulberry leaf?

Answer 1

Of Course. Absolutely true! Your statement is right! :)

In ecology, predation describes a biological interaction where a predator organism feeds on another living organism or organisms known as prey. The caterpillar feeds on organism on Milberry leaf, so the caterpillar is called "predator".

Answer 2

yes caterpilllar can be a predator.

Answer 3

Since a single caterpillar is unlikely to kill a mulberry tree, it would probably not be considered a "true predator".

It looks a lot like "plutonium oxide" copied the first line of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predator but if one reads the whole article it seems a bit more complicated than that one line suggests

A caterpillar would probably be considered a grazer rather than a "predator" but the distinction is not all that clear.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grazing

"Grazing generally describes a type of predation in which an herbivore feeds on plants (such as grasses), or more broadly on a multicellular autotrophs (such as kelp). Grazing differs from true predation because the organism being eaten is not killed"