Page 275 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Nymphalidae
DIS TRIBUTION The Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia
DISTRIBUTION
DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT
HABITAT
HABIT A T Landslides and second growth within Andean cloud forests
HOST PLANTS S Bamboo (Chusquea spp.)
T PLANT
HOST PLANTS
HOS
NOTE
TE
NO
NOTE Caterpillar that near-perfectly mimics dead bamboo leaves
A
CONSERVATION STATUS
TION S
A
T
TUS
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but not considered threatened
CONSERV
ADULT WINGSPAN
2¾–3 in (70–75 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
2 ⁄ –2 ⁄ in (62–68 mm)
PRONOPHILA ORCUS
ORCUS GREAT-SATYR 273
(LATREILLE, 1813)
Orcus Great-satyr caterpillars hatch from white, spherical eggs,

laid in clusters of two to ve on the underside of fresh host plant
leaves. The larvae, however, are not gregarious and quickly
disperse to their own leaves. Their complex patterning of shades
of brown, along with their elongate, tapering shape, make them
extremely cryptic on their host plant. They are nearly identical
in shape and color to a dead bamboo leaf, and even the white
spots on the thorax are part of this mimicry, being very similar
to a type of white fungus that frequently attacks dead leaves.
The pupa, hung from the underside of a cluster of dead bamboo
leaves, is similarly colored and also di cult to spot. The Orcus Great-satyr caterpillar is elongate,

broadest just behind the thorax, and tapers
rearward to a point created by two short, conical
The Orcus Great-satyr is among the largest and fastest- ying of caudal tails that are held tightly together. The

head, bearing two short horns, and the entire
the numerous species of Andean bamboo-feeding satyrs, known body are dull brownish with complex patterns
collectively as the tribe Pronophilini. The name “Orcus” refers of various shades of brown and white. A thin,
white middorsal line bordered by brown on the
to the god of the underworld in Roman mythology, the rough thorax, along with a pair of white spots and a pair
of brown crescents on the abdomen, are its
equivalent of Hades in Greek mythology. most prominent markings.

Actual size