Page 408 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Saturniidae
DISTRIBUTION Southern (predominantly southeastern) Brazil, west to northern
Bolivia, and south to northeastern Argentina
HABITAT Forests or scrublands
HOST PLANTS Many, incuding Lonicera spp. and Solanum spp.
NOTE Striking caterpillar with related species throughout South
American tropical latitudes
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated

ADULT WINGSPAN
2¾–3⅞ in (70–98 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
3 in (75 mm)
LEUCANELLA VIRIDESCENS
LEUCANELLA VIRIDESCENS
406
(WALKER, 1855)

The caterpillar of Leucanella viridescens is a striking sight, as it
is usually encountered in tightly knit bunches of black bodies
completely covered in dangerous-looking, bright yellow spines,
which can deliver painful stings upon contact. When moving
from one branch to another, the caterpillars form a single- le

procession. After finishing feeding at the end of six instars,
they go separate ways in search of a protected cavity or among
branches to spin a papery cocoon wrapped in leaves or debris.

The Leucanella viridescens caterpillar is There are 28 species in the Leucanella genus, most of them
black with white oval spiracles. On each colored similarly but with slight variations. They are found
segment there is a band of splayed clusters
of overlapping yellow spines, each tipped with in many habitats, from hot lowland scrub to elevations of
a sti , sharp, stinging bristle. The head, feet,
abdominal legs, and claspers are all black, over 10,000 ft (3,050 m) in the Andes, where the caterpillars are
and there are curved gray bristles on all legs. commonly encountered. They occur wherever their preferred
host plant grows but are polyphagous; in the laboratory,
L. viridescens caterpillars are known to eat more than 49 di erent

plant species.

Actual size