Page 480 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Sphingidae
DISTRIBUTION Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, China,
Chinese Taipei, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia
HABITAT Parks, gardens, lightly wooded areas, and waterways
HOST PLANTS Elephant ear (Colocasia spp., Caladium spp.), water primrose
(Ludwigia spp.), rose (Rosa spp.), arum (Arum spp.), and water
caltrop (Trapa spp.)
NOTE Fast-developing caterpillar that could become a biocontrol agent
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated

ADULT WINGSPAN
2⅜–2 ⁄ in (60–72 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
2⅛–3⅛ in (55–80 mm) THERETRA SILHETENSIS
BROWN-BANDED HUNTER
HAWKMOTH
478
(WALKER, 1856)

Brown-banded Hunter Hawkmoth caterpillars hatch from up to
150 globular, light green, smooth eggs laid singly on the upper
and lower surfaces of host plant leaves by the female hawkmoth.
Hatching occurs three to ten days after the eggs are laid,
according to temperature. The larvae are relatively inactive,
spending much of their time resting on the midrib of leaves or on
small stems and feeding mainly at night. They are often heavily
parasitized by braconid wasps, with up to 160 wasps developing
in and emerging from a single caterpillar.

Those that escape parasitization develop through ve instars,

taking two to five days per instar, and pupate in the ground
about two weeks after hatching. The moths emerge from the
subterranean pupae after about ten days. This species is also
known as the Water Primrose Hawkmoth, and the caterpillars
have been considered as a biological control agent for invasive
water primrose species in Thailand. As is the case with many
hawkmoth caterpillars, there are at least two color forms.

Actual size
The Brown-banded Hunter Hawkmoth caterpillar
occurs in green and brown forms. The commoner
green form is grass green with seven yellow or green,
dark-rimmed false eyespots running down the body
laterally. The head and prolegs are green, and the
true legs are orange.