Page 379 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Saturniidae
TRIBUTION
DISTRIBUTION
DISTRIBUTION Cerrado area of south central Brazil
DIS
HABITAT
HABITAT T Tropical savannahs
HABIT
A
HOST PLANTS
HOST PLANTS
HOS T PLANT S Erythroxylum tortuosum, Byrsonima verbascifolia, and Bauhinia spp.
NOTE
NOTE Colorful silkmoth caterpillar that has stinging spines
TE
NO
T
A
TUS
TION S
A
CONSERVATION STATUS
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but common although its habitat is threatened
CONSERV
ADULT WINGSPAN
2⅛–3⅜ in (54–85 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
2 ⁄ in (75 mm)
AUTOMERIS GRANULOSA
AUTOMERIS GRANULOSA 377
CONTE, 1906
The yellow caterpillar of Automeris granulosa hatches from a
yellowish egg and joins its siblings in a tight group. Members of
the group take turns to feed, several side by side, at the nibbled
edge of a leaf. After molting to the second instar, the caterpillar
is brownish yellow with dark spines. Third and fourth instar
larvae are white with narrow, dark gray longitudinal lines but,
in the sixth instar, become yellow with blue-gray lines and
spines. These colors become bright yellow and blue in the sixth
and seventh instars.

The Automeris granulosa caterpillar is pale
This caterpillar belongs to the silkmoth subfamily Hemileucinae olive green with three, sharply de ned, yellow
stripes on each side, the wider lateral stripe
and like other Hemileucinae members has stinging spines. connecting through the spiracles to the
However, unlike most other members, which spin weak cocoons stripe above it, forming a lateral chain of
quadrangles. The area between the yellow
or none at all, Automeris granulosa produces a sturdy, reticulated stripes is blue-green. The head is paler olive,
and the feet and the long spines are white.
cocoon. When A. granulosa silkmoths were reared in captivity
in Brazil, the pupal stage lasted about 26 days, and the time from
egg to emerged adult moth was 88 days. The beautiful adult is
prized by moth enthusiasts.

Actual size