Page 383 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Saturniidae
DISTRIBUTION India (Assam), China (Yunnan), eastern Myanmar, and Thailand
HABITAT Mountain forests
HOST PLANTS Many, including walnut (Juglans spp.), willow (Salix spp.),
and oak (Quercus spp.)
NOTE Striking, multicolored silkmoth caterpillar
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated

ADULT WINGSPAN
2⅞–3¾ in (73–95 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
2 ⁄ in (65 mm)
CALIGULA CACHARA
CALIGULA CACHARA 381

MOORE, 1872

The Caligula cachara silkmoth caterpillar hatches from a
group of irregularly placed eggs, which are partially covered
with a protective, brown, lacquer-like cement, secreted by the
female silkmoth as she lays. Newly hatched, the caterpillar is
mostly blue, but by the end of the rst instar it becomes green.

By the fth and nal instar it is stunningly marked and colored.

Throughout its development the caterpillar remains close to its
siblings and, when nished feeding, spins a brown cocoon of

open web netting in which the pupa is plainly visible inside.

The Caligula genus contains ten species, most of whose eggs
overwinter before hatching in the spring. It is now sometimes
considered a subgenus of Saturnia rather than separated as
Caligula, or its previous name, Dictyoploca. Caligula species are
distributed mainly in Asia and Japan. The C. cachara caterpillar,
like most of the others of its genus, possesses very long, pale hair,
especially on the dorsum.

The Caligula cachara caterpillar is mostly blue
green on the sides, shading into bluish white
Actual size dorsally, and electric green below. There is a
distinct bright yellow lateral stripe, and a pair
of long, orange scoli emerge from the dorsum
on the second and the third segments. The legs
are yellow with red-and-black bands, and the
dorsum has many thin, black, vertical squiggles.