Page 231 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Nymphalidae
DISTRIBUTION Southern India to southern China, Chinese Taipei,
and Southeast Asia, including the Philippines
HABITAT Open forests, and often seen in urban environments due to
ornamental uses of host plants
HOST PLANTS Fig (Ficus spp.), Oleander (Nerium oleander), Gymnanthera spp.,
Oxystelma spp., Toxocarpus spp., and Aristolochia spp.
NOTE Caterpillars that cut their food before eating it
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but not uncommon

ADULT WINGSPAN
3⅛–3½ in (80–90 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
1¾–2 in (45–50 mm)
EUPLOEA MULCIBER
STRIPED BLUE CROW 229

(CRAMER, 1777)

The yellow eggs of the Striped Blue Crow are laid singly
on the underside of leaves on a range of host plants and

become the caterpillar’s rst meal when it hatches. The larvae

develop through ve instars over 14 days. Most of the growth
occurs during the final, longest instar, when the caterpillar
doubles in size. Curiously, it feeds by rst disconnecting the

leaf at its stalk or midrib and securing it in place with silk before
consuming the severed portion. Early instars feed on younger
leaves, while older instars eat more mature foliage.

The caterpillar pupates on the underside of a leaf, spinning a silk
pad on the midrib, from which the chrysalis is suspended. The
chrysalis changes color from orange brown to mirrored silver
to black during the week-long pupation. The adult Striped Blue

Crow, most commonly seen feeding at owers, is known to be

distasteful to predators and is mimicked by other butter ies and
moths as an evolved defensive strategy.

The Striped Blue Crow caterpillar has four
pairs of reddish-brown, black-tipped, tendril-like Actual size
processes—three on the anterior segments and
one pair at the rear. The smooth, cylindrical body
is striped with white, black, and reddish-brown
bands with variable yellow or orange lateral
spots. The head capsule has distinctive white
outlines on a black or reddish-brown base color.