Page 332 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Crambidae
DISTRIBUTION Eastern United States, from South Carolina to Florida,
west to California, and south to Argentina
HABITAT Various habitats in association with Erythrina species
HOST PLANTS Coral Bean (Erythrina herbacea) and other coral trees
NOTE Caterpillar that lives and feeds inside the host plant
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but can be common where host plant is present

ADULT WINGSPAN
1 –1 in (30–40 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
1–1 in (25–40 mm)
TERASTIA METICULOSALIS
ERYTHRINA BORER
330
GUENÉE, 1854

Erythrina Borer caterpillars are found inside the stems or bean
pods of their host plants, creating tunnels from which they

expel frass. Their feeding produces a characteristic dying-o
of the tip of the stem. In Florida, the spring generation feeds
on flowers, and mature larvae destroy the bean pods of the
Coral Bean plant. Later in the season, they feed inside the stem,

which is less nutritious than the beans or owers, and colorless.
As a result, the summer and fall generation larvae are paler than

The Erythrina Borer caterpillar is pale reddish spring individuals, and the resulting adults are smaller.
brown to pink. It has a few short setae, and
a black head and prothoracic plate that are
both heavily sclerotized. In older larvae, the Because it is a borer, the caterpillar is difficult to reach with
prothoracic plate becomes lighter and only
slightly darker than the rest of the body, which insecticides and is also well protected from natural enemies,
is otherwise translucent and cream colored making it a formidable pest. It is capable of destroying the
but can turn pinkish red toward pupation.
nursery stock of ornamental Erythrina species. The long-lived
moths are strong iers and lay eggs singly. Terastia meticulosalis

is a New World representative of a complex of almost identical
pantropical species with similar biology, found from Africa to
Australia and on many tropical islands.

Actual size