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Has anyone ever heard this term? It appears in The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (on p. 13, according to my notes.... I've lost the book  , which is why I'm browsing through AWAD instead of reading it, but whoever took the book from the table where I left it was kind enough to leave behind my notebook. Perhaps someone else can provide context?) Was it an idiom coined by the author, who seems to be quite adept at manipulating language into colorful imagery, or is it a common phrase? While we're at it, how about "second story man"? (Again, I've forgotten the context, but it's on p. 18)
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I don't know about caterpillar scheming Mandy, but for the Arrernte people Alice Springs (where I live) is a major caterpillar dreaming site. There are several caterpillar species which figure, but the most prominent is the yeperenye (pronounced 'yip-ir-in-ya'). As in many languages (but not, alas, English), the Arrernte word for what the yeperenye emerges from its chrysalis as, is particularly beautiful: intelyapelyape (pronounced int-el-yup-el-yup-a). The beastie itself is well worthy of its totemic status: a ferocious looking technicolour midget with a false head and horns. They're building a ten metre long corrugated iron version as a community sculpture here at the moment: our very own caterpillar dream team scheme! 
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Consulting my handy copy of that fabulous book (which I am in the middle of, too), I notice that Chapter 2 (which actually® occurs on page 14) starts with: "It was a caterpillar scheme -- a dream of fabulous escape -- that had ultimately carried Josef Kavalier across Asia and the Pacific to his cousin's narrow bed on Ocean Avenue." I have never heard the phrase either, but if it is the author's creation he seems to have defined it pretty well.
As for a "second-story man," I have always understood that as a synonym for "cat burglar" -- a sneaky, dexterous criminal who specializes in breaking into upper-story apartments (presumably because residents there aren't as consistent in locking their windows).
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Thanks for the heads up on the yeperenye, Rusty. A google search didn't produce the picture I was hoping for, but did lead to some enchanting background on the Aboriginal Dreaming festivals.
I'm curious about the attention and apparent fondness that Australians bestow upon the original (well, aboriginal, i guess) languages and cultures that graced their land long ago and continue to be a presence. It strikes me as perhaps a lesson to be learned (but, sadly, not one that will likely be put into practice in my lifetime) here in the States, where (with a few notable exceptions) there seems to be such a drive toward homogeneity that, for instance, the Native American cultures have all but been steamrolled. I wonder how it is that two peoples could approach their countries' respective histories with such vastly different perspectives.
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Flatlander, thanks for the context. Now that I've reread the passage in question, I recall that (really, I'm not just back peddling) the meaning was indeed quite clear, so my purpose in writing it down was more to see if it was a standard idiom or an example of Chabon's artistry. BTW: Have you, by chance, run across an online discussion group for this book? Google came up empty.
Rodward: Yes, though I've hardly scratched the surface of the book (and won't get much deeper, until I make it back to the bookstore to replace the copy I lost), I'd heartily recommend it as a charming and entertaining read.
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In reply to:
the attention and apparent fondness that Australians bestow upon the original (well, aboriginal, i guess) languages and cultures that graced their land long ago and continue to be a presence
Sadly, the 'fondness' to which you refer is more apparent than real. Of the estimated 600 indigenous languages flourishing in Australia 200 years ago, only some 200 remain alive, and most of these are only hanging on by their fingernails, being only spoken by a handful of surviving elders. The most populous traditional languages would still only boast at most a few thousand native speakers. The Northern Territory government last year announced that it would terminate the Education Department's Bilingual Program, a decision which if implemented will surely hasten the death of many of these languages.
Nevertheless there are signs of hope in some quarters. This year, after twenty years of lobbying, the Commonwealth government at last agreed to fund an Aboriginal Interpreter Service in the Northern Territory. There are Aboriginal Language Centres in each of the four major regions of the Territory, and a slow but steady stream of dictionaries, grammars and other pedagogic materials is being published in the major languages of my region, Central Australia.
The Inuit languages of Canada, by contrast, have been supported by well-established interpreter and educational services for decades.
Australia has no reason to be particularly proud of its achievements in this field, unless being in the vanguard of the global movement to exterminate all languages other than English is something to boast about.
To me, living in a town where I can daily hear - and even understand a few words of - traditional Aboriginal languages* being spoken in the street, is a great privilege, and a source of pride. To know that the majority of my fellow-citizens regard this linguistic wealth with something ranging between ignorant disdain and ignorant contempt, is a great burden, and a source of shame.
* there are 16 dialects of 4 language groups spoken by people who use Alice Springs as a supply town.
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Carpal Tunnel
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To me, living in a town where I can daily hear - and even understand a few words of - traditional Aboriginal languages* being spoken in the street, is a great privilege, and a source of pride.
Rusty, I knew there was a reason I like you. Namaste, sir.
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