Question: Foods - Caterpillars

[akiso914]

Hey - does anyone know if army worm caterpillars are ok as food? I have a couple fat ones in my (organic) garden and I would like to feed them to my girls for variety. Usually they eat worms, but I have given them various grubs in the past. The caterpillars are smooth and not hairy.

 

[JoshBA]

They'd probably be perfectly fine.

However, the caterpillars may have some of the plant's secondary metabolites (defensive chemicals used by the plant in response to herbivory), either stored in their tissue or in their digestive tract. Maybe do some research on acquired plant defenses in lepidopterans if you're worried. I'd assume this would have a benign effect on the axolotl though (they are generalist feeders, after all).