Page 278 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Nymphalidae
DISTRIBUTION From Mexico through Central America and northern
South America, south as far as Bolivia
HABITAT Lowland humid forests
HOST PLANTS Serjania spp.

NOTE Newly described caterpillar that has a lea ike pupa
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but not likely to be endangered

ADULT WINGSPAN
2⅛–2 ⁄ in (55–65 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
1
⁄ –1 ⁄ in (33–37 mm)
PYRRHOGYRA OTOLAIS
DOUBLE-BANDED BANNER
276
BATES, 1864

Double-banded Banner larvae hatch from eggs laid singly on the
bright red, newly expanding leaves of their host plants. Young
caterpillars rest near the ends of frass chains, while larger instars
rest on top of the host leaf, with their face pressed tightly to
the leaf surface. When disturbed, older larvae rear backward
to thrash wildly about with their long scoli, often lifting their
terminal abdominal segments simultaneously, bringing these
scoli to bear as well. Their lea ike, emerald-green pupae are
somewhat oddly attached, being affixed by the cremaster to
the dorsal surface of the leaf and standing upright, overall
resembling a piece of green leaf that has curled upward.

Despite the Double-banded Banner’s wide geographic
distribution, and its formal recognition as a species more than a
century and a half ago, its larval stages and host plant preferences
were described only at the beginning of this century. The

adults are very fast iers and feed on fallen fruit, rotting fungi,
The Double-banded Banner caterpillar has dung, and carrion.
an orange head with long, recurved scoli, each
bearing several smaller chalazae. While its body
is predominantly white with black spotting and
striping, irregularly shaped markings in yellow
and blue form longitudinal stripes laterally and
subdorsally. All thoracic and most abdominal
segments bear prominent, multipronged
dorsal scoli, with small scoli protruding
laterally above the prolegs.
Actual size