Page 319 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Zygaenidae
DISTRIBUTION Sri Lanka, southern India, northeast India and the Himalayas,
Thailand, Myanmar, Indochina, China, Chinese Taipei, and Japan
HABITAT Montane forests
HOST PLANTS Many, including tea (Camellia spp.), Aporosa spp.,
wild peony (Melastoma spp.), Eurya spp., Buddleja spp.,
and Rhododendron spp.
NOTE Caterpillar that is sluglike and a noted pest of tea
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but generally very common, although some
Japanese subspecies are speci c to individual islands and locations

ADULT WINGSPAN
2⅜–2¾ in (60–70 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
1 ⁄ in (30 mm)
ETERUSIA AEDEA
ETERUSIA AEDEA 317

(LINNAEUS, 1763)

Eterusia aedea caterpillars, also known as red slug caterpillars,
hatch from up to 300 ovoid, yellow eggs laid by the female
moth in stacked batches. New hatchlings are gregarious and
graze the leaf surface but later disperse, preferring to feed on
mature foliage. When threatened, like related moth larvae
of the Chalcosiinae subfamily, E. aedea larvae secrete droplets of

distasteful cyanic uid from their many tubercles. There are ve
larval instars over three to four weeks. Pupation, lasting three to
four weeks, occurs on the midrib of the topside of leaves with the
leaf folded over the silken cocoon. In populations associated with
tea plantations in temperate China, there are two generations
annually—June to August and October to November. The
second generation overwinters as a pupa.

Eterusia aedea is easily the most widely distributed Asian species
of the Chalcosiinae subfamily. It includes 13 subspecies (eight
from the islands of Japan) with varied wing markings and colors,
sizes, flight times, life histories, and host plant preferences.
Several subspecies have been reported as pests of tea plantations,
which means their life cycles are generally better known. Actual size

The Eterusia aedea caterpillar is slow-moving,
sluglike, and brick red in color, bearing six,
longitudinal rows of tubercles. These are tipped
with pairs of setae that are spinelike, except for
those around the margins, where the tubercles
are a brighter orange and bear longer, softer
hairs. The body color deepens toward the
dorsum with a lighter saddle mid-abdomen.