Page 468 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Sphingidae
DISTRIBUTION Southern and southwestern United States to Brazil
HABITAT Many lowland habitats, including gardens and parklands
HOST PLANTS Dogbanes (Apocynaceae), including frangipani (Plumeria spp.)
and Golden Trumpet (Allamanda cathartica)
NOTE Large, conspicuous, aposematic caterpillar capable of defoliating
host plant ornamentals
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated

ADULT WINGSPAN
4 ⁄ –5½ in (127–140 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
5½–6 in (140–150 mm)
PSEUDOSPHINX TETRIO
TETRIO SPHINX
466
(LINNAEUS, 1771)

Tetrio Sphinx caterpillars hatch from clusters of 50 to 100
large, smooth, pale green eggs laid by the female moth on
host plant leaves. The larvae feed ravenously and can devour
three large leaves daily. The coloration of the caterpillars is
aposematic, warning predators that they are potentially toxic.
The caterpillar is able to detoxify poisons it ingests from the sap
of its host plants and use them for defense. It is also suggested to
be a snake mimic, waving the anterior part of the body around
when threatened. When full grown, the larvae pupate in a cell

The Tetrio Sphinx caterpillar is velvety black made from soil or debris on the ground. There are several
with vivid yellow banding and bright red head generations annually.
and legs, speckled with black. The posterior
spine is black and arises from a reddish-orange
base. Newly molted larvae are gray with light
yellow bands, assuming normal coloration The adult moths are nocturnal and feed from many kinds of
after a few hours. owers, playing an important role in pollinating some species.

Plumeria species are among the owers whose fragrance attracts
sphinx moths to pollinate them, yet Tetrio Sphinx caterpillars
can cause severe damage and may even defoliate the same
ornamental species.

Actual size