Page 470 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Sphingidae
DISTRIBUTION Northeastern India, Bhutan, Myanmar, northern Thailand,
northern Vietnam, and southern and eastern China
HABITAT Forests and woodlands
HOST PLANTS Bentham’s Rosewood (Dalbergia bentham), Lebbeck
(Albizia lebbeck), and Lespedeza spp.

NOTE Well-camou aged caterpillar that metamorphoses into
a bee-mimicking hawkmoth
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated

ADULT WINGSPAN
2 ⁄ –2 ⁄ in (52–58 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
1 ⁄ –2 ⁄ in (40–65 mm) SATASPES XYLOCOPARIS
EASTERN CARPENTER BEE
HAWKMOTH
468
BUTLER, 1875

Eastern Carpenter Bee Hawkmoth caterpillars hatch from pale
green, smooth, shiny eggs laid singly by the female hawkmoth
on the undersides of host plant leaves. The larvae hatch in
about four days and feed and develop through ve instars. The

caterpillars rest in a typical sphinx pose and, when molested,

emit brown uid from the mouth as a defensive reaction. Mature
caterpillars darken in color and wander for a day or so before
pupating. Pupation occurs within an earthen cell below ground
or in a rough cocoon on the soil surface.

The green caterpillars are well camouflaged on their host
plants, and to further disguise themselves most individuals
have a reddish-brown patch on their bodies that resembles the

necrotic area seen on diseased leaves. The adult, a day- ying
moth that mimics large bees, particularly carpenter bees in
the genus Xylocopa, is often seen feeding from owers in the

early morning.

Actual size
The Eastern Carpenter Bee Hawkmoth
caterpillar is green with faint oblique, white,
lateral stripes, the stripe leading to the tail
horn being bolder. Some caterpillars have
a large, reddish-brown patch on segments
seven and eight. The head is green with two
white stripes laterally. The tail horn is green
and relatively short.