Page 209 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Nymphalidae
DISTRIBUTION Northern, eastern, and southern Australia
HABITAT Wide range of lightly wooded habitats, including urban areas
HOST PLANTS More than 45 hosts recorded; commonly wattles (Acacia spp.)
but also plants from other families, including Caesalpiniaceae
and Sterculiaceae
NOTE Large, variably banded, and colorful caterpillar
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but in low densities throughout most of its range

ADULT WINGSPAN
3–3⅜ in (75–85 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
2⅛ in (55 mm)
CHARAXES SEMPRONIUS
TAILED EMPEROR 207

(FABRICIUS, 1793)

Tailed Emperor caterpillars hatch from round, green-and-brown
eggs laid singly on host plants and feed openly on the leaves,
mostly at night. During the day, and during molts, they rest
on a silken pad spun on the upper side of a leaf. Even in early
instars, the caterpillar’s small head is adorned with two pairs of
long horns. In the cooler, southern areas of the species’ range
there are two generations a year, with three to ve generations

occurring in northern regions, where the larvae can be found
throughout the year. The Tailed Emperor caterpillar is green or
bluish green with a yellow ventrolateral line and
transverse, yellow bands edged anteriorly blue
The caterpillars pupate on the food plant, forming a shiny on abdominal segments three and ve but often
green, ovate chrysalis, suspended head down by the cremaster also on other segments. The body is covered with
tiny, white spots from which minute hairs arise.
on a twig or the underside of a leaf. The male butter ies are The head is green and edged yellow with four
long, green-and-yellow, blue-tipped horns.

strong, rapid iers and commonly hilltop, while both sexes are
attracted to fermenting fruit and tree sap. The subfamily of
butter ies (Charaxinae) to which Charaxes sempronius belongs

is well represented in the Afro-tropical and Oriental regions, and
caterpillars of these species all have long horns.

Actual size