Page 329 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Crambidae
DISTRIBUTION Southern United States, Central America, and the Caribbean
HABITAT Various habitats, in close association with host plants
HOST PLANTS Coral trees (Erythrina spp.)
NOTE Caterpillar that folds leaves to create a shelter
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but not common, though not
considered endangered

ADULT WINGSPAN
–1 in (24–30 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
1 –1 in (30–40 mm)
AGATHODES MONSTRALIS
ERYTHRINA LEAF-ROLLER 327

GUENÉE, 1854

The Erythrina Leaf-roller caterpillar is so-called because it
makes shelters from a single leaf, where it remains when not

feeding. In spring, the larvae prefer owers, while summer and
fall generations feed on leaves and develop more slowly than the Actual size
earlier generation. In north Florida, where the host plants freeze
to the ground in November and December, resprouting from the
roots in April, diapause occurs in a prepupal stage inside cocoons
made of a double layer of silk. In the warmer parts of the moth’s
range, there may be no diapause. There are four generations of
Agathodes monstralis between May and September in Florida,
each generation taking about a month to develop. The Erythrina Leaf-roller caterpillar when
young is translucent and green (if feeding on
leaves) or orange (if feeding on owers), with
Erythrina Leaf-rollers can have an economic impact as they six rows of short, black, sclerotized tubercles.
attack a group of popular ornamental and medicinal plants The later instar larvae develop cream-colored,
longitudinal stripes, and the black tubercles
in the genus Erythrina. Although both North American and become more prominent on the background
color, while the head is bright red. Before
South American moth populations were known as Agathodes pupation, a caterpillar can turn orange or
designalis, the most recent genetic studies suggest two separate pink, especially if dieting on owers.
species, and so the name A. monstralis now applies to the North
American populations and A. designalis to the South American
ones. Agathodes moths are found throughout the subtropical
and tropical regions, forming a complex of 15 species, three of
them in the New World.