Page 411 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Saturniidae
DISTRIBUTION Guiano-Amazonian basin, from the Atlantic to the eastern Andes,
south to central Brazil and northern Bolivia
HABITAT Forests and scrub, tropical to temperate
HOST PLANTS Unknown; in captivity has fed on privet (Ligustrum spp.)
and Laural Sumac (Malosma laurina)
NOTE Stinging caterpillars that en masse can fatally injure humans
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated

ADULT WINGSPAN
2¾–4½ in (70–114 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
3 in (75 mm)
LONOMIA ACHELOUS
LONOMIA ACHELOUS 409

(CRAMER, 1777)

The black, newly hatched caterpillar of Lonomia achelous eats
its eggshell before following the pheromone-laced silk trail of its

siblings to join them. In the rst instar, it possesses two pairs of
long tubercles with forked tips arising from the second and third
segments. As it grows, the larva changes shape, color, and the
arrangement of its spines. The caterpillars are strictly nocturnal,
feeding in the treetop by night and “galloping” fast in procession
down the tree trunk to amass on the base each morning. When
it has finished feeding, the caterpillar pupates among debris
without a silk cocoon.

Stings from Lonomia caterpillars cause fatalities every year
when people inadvertently come in contact with many larvae
at once. However, the sting of a single L. achelous caterpillar is
not dangerous, and the pain is not as intense as that caused by
some other species in the Hemileucinae subfamily. The adult,
a species of giant silkmoth, is only moderately sized and
resembles a dead leaf.

The Lonomia achelous caterpillar is largely Actual size
black on the dorsum, shading to light brownish
gray on the sides with a light brown, double-
lobed rectangle on the second, sixth, and seventh
segments. Turquoise spines, long on the sides
and short on the dorsum, have slender pink
branches. There are three thin, white lines on
each side, and the abdominal legs are reddish.