Page 198 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Nymphalidae
DISTRIBUTION Tropical and subtropical Asia
HABITAT Wooded areas, roadways, paths, and margins of clearings
HOST PLANTS Plants of Rubiaceae family, including Adina spp.,
Mussaenda spp., and Wendlandia spp.
NOTE Caterpillar that, when young, uses excrement as a
defensive barrier
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but very common

ADULT WINGSPAN
2⅛–2 ⁄ in (55–65 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH

1⅜ in (35 mm)

ATHYMA SELENOPHORA
STAFF SERGEANT
196
(KOLLAR, 1844)

The Sta Sergeant caterpillar leaves behind the sturdy midrib

when it consumes its host plant leaf. In the early instars,
this is where it isolates itself by building a barrier of frass
at the leaf margin as a deterrent against intruders such as ants.
As the caterpillar grows, the frass patch itself becomes the ideal
hiding place as it perfectly matches its brown livery. By the time
the leaf larder is exhausted and the caterpillar is too large to take
advantage of the precarious perch, it molts into the mature larval
green colors and rests on the topsides of leaves. The larval instars
take 30 days, and the pupal period lasts 13 days.

The Staff Sergeant butterfly is gender dimorphic: males
have fewer but more pronounced white markings on a black
background. As many Southeast Asian butterflies were
Actual size
described and named in colonial times, often by collectors and
laymen associated with the military, there is a preponderance of
British military and peerage common names among them, hence
the name “sergeant” (others include the commanders, dukes,
earls, barons, and lascars).

The Sta Sergeant caterpillar has branched red
“antlers” on each segment. The body is green
with pinpoint white spots throughout and a dark
dorsal saddle mid-abdomen. The base of each
proleg is red orange with additional small, white
spines. There are white lateral patches on the
rst and last abdominal segments. The red head
capsule has simple spines around its margins
and white tubercles on the face.