Page 267 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Nymphalidae
DISTRIBUTION Mainland New Guinea, and northeastern and eastern Australia
HABITAT Coastal rain forest edges, especially along creeks, gullies,
and urban gardens
HOST PLANTS Wide range, including species from Bombacaceae, Boraginaceae,
Fabaceae, Sterculiaceae, Tiliaceae, and Ulmaceae

NOTE Caterpillar that creates dead-leaf camou age on its food plant
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but locally common

ADULT WINGSPAN
2 ⁄ in (56 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH

1⅓
in (26 mm)

PHAEDYMA SHEPHERDI
WHITE-BANDED PLANE 265
(MOORE, 1858)

The White-banded Plane caterpillar hatches from pale yellow,
pitted eggs laid on the shoots and young leaves of its food
plant. The caterpillar cuts out small pieces of leaf and hangs
them from the leaf edge on which it is feeding. These decaying

leaf pieces provide an excellent camou age for the larva as it
rests along the midrib of the leaf. Such dead-leaf fragments are
a strong indicator of the presence of this species. The caterpillars
develop slowly but are present throughout the year in the
tropical areas of their range.

Actual size
Pupation occurs on the underside of a nearby uneaten leaf,
the brownish pupa hanging head downward and attached by the

cremaster to a silken pad. The adult butter ies have a distinctive

gliding ight. The males will defend territories in sunny patches
in the rain forest, frequently returning to the same leaf to survey
their own territory.

The White-banded Plane caterpillar is light
brown with oblique, darker brown bands on the
abdomen and green-brown patches at the end
of the abdomen. It has a pair of yellow lateral
spots on segments eight and nine, while its
mesothorax, metathorax, and segments two
and eight have a pair of branched, spiny
dorsolateral processes. The head has two
short, spiny dorsolateral projections.