Page 251 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Nymphalidae
DISTRIBUTION Most of Africa, South and Southeast Asia, extending to Australia
and New Zealand
HABITAT Meadows and forest edges as well as disturbed habitat; also in rice
elds and among other grassy crops

HOST PLANTS Grasses and bamboo, including Poa spp. and Oryza spp.
NOTE Widely occurring caterpillar that can be a pest on rice
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but common

ADULT WINGSPAN
2–3⅛ in (50–80 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
2–2¾ in (50–70 mm)
MELANITIS LEDA
COMMON EVENING BROWN 249

(LINNAEUS, 1758)

The Common Evening Brown caterpillar is typical of its
subfamily Satyrinae, with cryptic coloration that matches the
pattern and shape of the long grass blades it feeds on. While

living on such an abundant resource o ers many advantages,
it has shortcomings, too, as grasses are a tough, low-nutrient
food. As a result, it usually takes a long time for the caterpillar
to develop, and the ingested chemicals do not o er protection

from predators or parasitoids. Hence the larvae have to rely on
being undetected on the matching background.

The Satyrinae subfamily of butter ies encompasses more than

2,400 species, whose caterpillars—with a few exceptions—feed
on monocot plants such as grasses and bamboos and are quite
similar in appearance. Like some other satyrine butterflies,
Melanitis leda adults have a distinct wet season form with
numerous eyespots on their underside—thought to deflect
attacks from predators—and various dry season forms that
mimic diverse fallen leaf patterns.

Actual size
The Common Evening Brown caterpillar is
cryptically colored green with longitudinal
stripes: one median, dorsal, darker stripe and
several lighter stripes. The head can be either
green with dark horns from which two vertical,
dark stripes originate, or it can also be colored
entirely black. Both horns and body are covered
with numerous short, thin setae.