Caterpillars are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies are commonly called caterpillars as well. Both lepidopteran and symphytan larvae have eruciform body shapes.
Caterpillars of most species are herbivorous (folivorous), but not all; some (about 1%) are insectivorous, even cannibalistic. Some feed on other animal products; for example, clothes moths feed on wool, and horn moths feed on the hooves and horns of dead ungulates.
Caterpillars are typically voracious feeders and many of them are among the most serious of agricultural pests.
