Page 490 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Geometridae
DISTRIBUTION Southeastern United States, from North Carolina to Texas,
Oklahoma, and north Florida
HABITAT Forests and suburbs

HOST PLANTS Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraci ua)

NOTE Caterpillar that has characteristic “horns” on the rst
thoracic segment
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but uncommon

ADULT WINGSPAN
1⅜ in (35 mm)

CATERPILLAR LENGTH
1 ⁄ in (33 mm)
CERATONYX SATANARIA
SATAN’S HORNED INCHWORM
488
GUENÉE, [1858]

Little is known of the biology and life cycle of Satan’s Horned
Inchworm. The genus name Ceratonyx is derived from Greek,
meaning “punctured horn,” and, like the larva’s common
name, references its strange-looking, hornlike protrusions.
The Satan’s Horned Inchworm caterpillar has In addition to these projections, the larvae also possess cuticular
a pair of long, hornlike prothoracic laments aps that resemble leaf scars on stems, adding to their ability to

covered with numerous outgrowths and

secondary setae. There is also the stump of camou age themselves against a diverse array of twigs when
a lament dorsally on the eighth abdominal

segment. The body is gray or rusty brown, at rest. Yet, camou age is unlikely to be the sole purpose of the
with the head, laments, subdorsal line, and all “horns,” which are also covered in numerous sensory setae,
legs rusty red or beige. The lesser projections
(or skin aps) on the abdominal segments are housing sensilla that may help the caterpillar detect approaching
covered with short, sclerotized spines, which

may help the cuticular aps to maintain their predators, alerting it to assume a sti , twiglike posture.
shape, texture, and color.
Ceratonyx satanaria is thought to overwinter as a pupa and
produce one brood a year, with adult ight from January to
the end of April, peaking in mid-February. Satan’s Horned
Inchworm is a member of a New World genus that now includes
four species, although earlier classi cations included 12.

Actual size