Caterpillar

ALL-TERRAIN TRAVELLER

Caterpillars – butterfly larvae – are able to travel on all surfaces regardless of the obstacles they encounter. They distribute their weight over their three pairs of legs and several series of false legs and their many points of contact enable them to travel…slowly, but surely.

Caterpillars very likely inspired an important invention that bears their name: the caterpillar track, a continuous band of treads (generally metal or rubber) that turns on wheels in a closed loop. Caterpillar tracks allow different types of vehicles, from tractors to tanks, to move forward on uneven or soft terrain.

A caterpillar track distributes a vehicle’s weight over a large surface better than a wheel, without sinking as far into the ground. Québec inventor Joseph-Armand Bombardier perfected the caterpillar track and significantly improved this method of propulsion by inventing the sprocket wheel/track system.

Caterpillar tracks are slower than wheels and use much more energy. However, they are unequalled in snow, mud or sand.

For more information on the animal:
Lepidopteran larva

For more information on the technology:
Caterpillar track