Page 100 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Hesperiidae
TRIBUTION
DISTRIBUTION The Andes of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia
DIS
DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT T Andean cloud forests and adjacent second growth
HABIT
HABITAT
A
HOST PLANTS S Brambles (Rubus spp.)
HOST PLANTS
T PLANT
HOS
NOTE
TE
NOTE Dull-colored caterpillar that builds a fascinating leaf shelter
NO
CONSERV A TION S T A TUS Not evaluated, but unlikely to be endangered
CONSERVATION STATUS
CONSERVATION STATUS
ADULT WINGSPAN
1½–1⅝ in (38–41 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
1–1³∕₁₆ in (25–30 mm)
NOCTUANA HAEMATOSPILA
RED-STUDDED SKIPPER
98
(FELDER & FELDER, 1867)

At all larval stages, caterpillars of the Red-studded Skipper build
shelters out of their host plant leaves, leaving them to feed and
hiding within them during much of the day. First instars make a
roughly round or oval-shaped cut that begins away from the leaf
margin; this section of leaf is then flipped onto the dorsal surface

of the leaf, rather like a manhole cover, and tightly silked to the
leaf surface. Later instars excise a roughly trapezoidal-shaped
section of leaf from the margin and silk this piece to the upper
surface of the leaf.

The adult Red-studded Skipper is a flashy and often-
illustrated species, fairly common across its broad range.
The head capsules of newly molted larvae are pale cream
or ivory colored prior to hardening, and larvae remain
safely within their leaf shelters during this period. Larvae
of all ages forcibly expel frass from the anus, with later
instars documented to expel over a distance of more than
3 ft (1 m). The life cycle, from oviposition to eclosion, lasts
around 135 days.

The Red-studded Skipper caterpillar
has a shiny, black to deep brown, roughly
heart-shaped head with short, pale setae
visible only under a dissecting microscope.
The body is dull orange brown or orange green,
and is sparsely covered with tiny, pale spots.
The pronotal shield is shiny black, roughly
rectangular, and well developed. Laterally,
there is a thin, orange spiracular line running Actual size
along most of the abdomen.