Page 355 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Brahmaeidae
TRIBUTION
DISTRIBUTION Japan
DISTRIBUTION
DIS
HABIT
A
HABITAT T Humid deciduous forests
HABITAT
HOST PLANTS S Ash (Fraxinus spp.), privet (Ligustrum spp.), and Osmanthus spp.
T PLANT
HOST PLANTS
HOS
TE
NOTE
NO
NOTE Large, brightly colored caterpillar that is found only in Japan
TUS
A
T
TION S
A
CONSERVATION STATUS
CONSERV
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated
ADULT WINGSPAN
3⅛–4½ in (80–115 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
2¾ in (70 mm)
BRAHMAEA JAPONICA
JAPANESE OWL MOTH 353
(BUTLER, 1873)
Japanese Owl Moth caterpillars hatch from smooth, brown,
dome-shaped eggs laid in small clusters on the leaves of the host
plant. The young and mature caterpillar look very di erent,

with the young caterpillar white in color with markings of black

and yellow and sporting four long, black thoracic laments and
three anal filaments. These filaments grow longer with each

molt but are then replaced by small tubercles in the nal molt.
The mature caterpillars move to the ground, where they pupate
under logs or stones and overwinter. The pupa is black.

The Japanese Owl Moth caterpillar is large and
The night- ying adult moths rest on tree trunks during the day brightly colored. The body is creamy white with

a lateral black stripe between two broken yellow
and are seen in March to April, when they are attracted to light. stripes and scattered markings in black and
They get their name from the resemblance of their upperside yellow. The head is black with yellow marks
and white marks. There are small tubercles on
wing markings to the face of an owl. There is some confusion the thorax and at the tail end of the abdomen.
over the species’ classification, as a number of authorities
describe the moth as a subspecies of Brahmaea wallichii.

Actual size