Page 238 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Nymphalidae
DISTRIBUTION Extreme southeastern United States, through Central America
and Trinidad; also the Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia, southeast
through Paraguay to southern Brazil and Uruguay
HABITAT Disturbed or regenerating humid and semi-humid foothill and
montane forest, occasionally tropical deciduous forest
HOST PLANTS Nettle (Boehmeria spp., Phenax spp., Urera spp.) and hackberry
(Celtis spp., Sponia spp., Trema spp.)
NOTE Spiny caterpillar that creates leaf shelters
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but generally widespread and common

ADULT WINGSPAN
2⅜–2 ⁄ in (60–65 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
1⅜–1 ⁄ in (35–40 mm)

HYPANARTIA LETHE
ORANGE MAPWING
236
(FABRICIUS, 1793)

Newly hatched Orange Mapwing caterpillars make a silk-
lined tube from the host plant leaf and rest inside, feeding on
the epidermis within the tube and on adjacent leaves. Older
larvae form a pouch-like tent out of leaves, resting inside when
not feeding. Unlike the larvae of many other shelter-building
species, such as skippers (Hesperiidae), the caterpillars appear
to lack the ability to ing their frass, a tactic thought to deter
predators, and instead simply drop it outside the shelter.
Pupation may occur within the shelter or occasionally on an
adjacent plant. When alarmed, larvae move their head rapidly
back and forth against the leaf surface, making a surprisingly
loud noise.

Orange Mapwings are usually found between 985 ft (300 m) and
4,920 ft (1,500 m), but in eastern Ecuador they appear to make
altitudinal migrations every several years, breeding at elevations
as high as 7,545 ft (2,300 m) for one or two generations before
disappearing again. Adults commonly feed on fruits, at puddles,
or at water seeps, but both sexes occasionally visit flowers,
particularly large asters such as Baccaris species.

The Orange Mapwing caterpillar is predominantly
dull, creamy white to yellow with, short, black,
branched spines and lime green or bluish highlights
on the body. The mature larva in eastern Ecuador
has a striped, green head, though larvae in Costa
Rica reportedly have dull orange heads, suggesting
that more than one species may be involved.

Actual size