Page 180 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Nymphalidae
DISTRIBUTION The Himalayas, northeast India, southern China, Chinese Taipei,
and much of Southeast Asia
HABITAT Open forests and disturbed areas where invasive host

plants flourish
HOST PLANTS Members of nettle family (Urticaceae), including Boehmeria spp.,
Debregeasia spp., Elatostema spp, Urtica spp., and Pouzolzia spp.;
also Buddleja spp.
NOTE Hungry, unpalatable, foul-smelling, spiny caterpillars that
live en masse
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but locally common

ADULT WINGSPAN
2⅜–2¾ in (60–70 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH

1⅜ in (35 mm)
ACRAEA ISSORIA
YELLOW COSTER
178
(HÜBNER, 1819)

Yellow Coster females lay several dozen eggs on the undersides
of leaves, which take around 20 days to hatch. The caterpillars
live gregariously and, as a result, frequently defoliate their host
plants. Like the adult butterfly, the caterpillars are known to be

unpalatable and malodorous to predators, but they can suffer
heavy losses to parasitoid fl ies and wasps in the pupal stage.
Actual size
The chrysalis is white with yellow and black markings clearly
defining the underlying anatomy. Pupation occurs on the host

plant or nearby vegetation, and the butterfly emerges after
15 days. Depending on location, there are two (western China)

The Yellow Coster caterpillar has a to five (Chinese Taipei) generations annually. In Chinese Taipei,
purplish-brown base color with broken white the butterfly overwinters as the larval stage.

lines running the length of its body. On each
body segment along these lines are rings of
long spines with multiple branchlets over their
length. The base and shaft of each spine are The Yellow Coster butterfly is slow-flying and of variable
orange, and they are tipped with black. appearance but with a yellowish-brown base color, black
markings, and leathery, thinly scaled wings that can appear
transparent with wear and tear. Populations can be concentrated
to form “roosts” where the host plants grow, as the adults
do not travel far.