Page 204 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Nymphalidae
DIS
DISTRIBUTION Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti)
TRIBUTION
DISTRIBUTION
HABIT A T Dry scrub, acacia-cactus woodlands, and pine forests
HABITAT
HABITAT
HOST PLANTS
HOST PLANTS S Grasses, including Poa spp. and Stenophrum spp.
T PLANT
HOS
NO
TE
NOTE Green-brown caterpillar that closely resembles related species
NOTE
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated
TION S
CONSERV
CONSERVATION STATUS
A
A
T
TUS
ADULT WINGSPAN
½–⅝ in (12–16 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
¾ in (20 mm)
CALISTO OBSCURA
CALISTO OBSCURA
202
MICHENER, 1943
Calisto obscura caterpillars hatch from eggs laid on grasses. They

are extremely well camou aged on their host grasses and di cult

to nd, with the life cycle taking around 73 days to complete.

The butter y adults are on the wing in all seasons and possibly
produce two generations a year. Calisto obscura is found across
Hispaniola, occurring in a wide range of habitats, from sandy,
coastal grassland to highland pine forest, and including very
dry habitats, such as acacia-cactus woodlands.

The Calisto obscura caterpillar may have The genus Calisto is endemic to the Caribbean, where there are
either a basic body color of olive brown 34 species and 17 subspecies. Most occur on the island of
or dark brown to black. The rings of tiny
tubercles with short tufts of hairs around the Hispaniola. Two species in particular, C. confusa and C. batesi,
body give a ribbed appearance. There is a
pale dorsal stripe and a lateral row of pale, are very similar in appearance to C. obscura, and they often share
rhombus-shaped markings. the same habitat. There are, however, minor di erences in the

appearance of the caterpillars and their time of development.
The C. obscura species has been identi ed conclusively through

the use of DNA pro ling.

Actual size