Page 144 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS
ADULT WINGSPAN
1–1⅛ in (26–29 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
¾–⅞ in (20–23 mm)
142
Actual size
The Protonymphidia senta caterpillar is short,
stout, and sluglike. Its small, caramel-brown
head is partially hidden by its
The body is green, washed with maroon,
especially laterally, and bears many minute,
pale setae.
FAMILY Riodinidae
TRIBUTION
DIS
DISTRIBUTION Western Amazon, from Colombia south to Bolivia
DISTRIBUTION
HABIT
HABITAT T Humid Amazonian forest, especially in tree gaps and at river edges
HABITAT
A
HOST PLANTS
HOST PLANTS
HOS T PLANT S Bauhinia spp.
NO
NOTE Sluglike caterpillar that forms a protective relationship with ants
TE
NOTE
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but not considered threatened
CONSERVATION STATUS
CONSERV
T
TION S
A
TUS
A
PROTONYMPHIDIA SENTA
PROTONYMPHIDIA SENTA
(HEWITSON, 1853)
Protonymphidia senta caterpillars hatch from small, flattened,
white eggs laid singly on the extrafloral nectaries of their host
plant. The larvae feed on the secretions of the nectaries as well
as plant tissue. Even in the world of caterpillars, which are hardly
renowned for their speed, these insects are decidedly slow-
moving. This is not accidental, however, as they rely largely on
their lack of movement and general resemblance to a bud of new
plant growth to escape detection. In addition, the caterpillars
are almost continually protected by a swarm of ants, which they
reward with drops of nutritious liquid excreted from specialized
glands on their abdomen.
The larvae form brown pupae, and the eclosing adults also feed
from the extrafloral nectaries of the host plant unmolested by
the resident ants. Research suggests that the female deliberately
oviposits where the ants are present. This species is considered
distinctive within the family Riodinidae and is the only member
eshy thorax.
of its very recently erected genus.