What two or more ways can the activities of the caterpillar change it's ecosystem?

Question

I don't get why it changes anything. Please explain.

Answer 1

Anna,

 

In certain group of trees, caterpillar create leaf ties that attract a group on insects that feed on those tied leaves thereby changing the ecosystem. There is a latest article in this topic in journal called Ecology. Here is the title:

 

Native leaf-tying caterpillars influence host plant use by the invasive Asiatic oak weevil through ecosystem engineering
Christina S.Baer and Robert J.Marquis



Read More: http://www.esajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1890/13-1689.1