Page 540 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Erebidae
DISTRIBUTION Around the Mediterranean, east to central Asia and areas
of northwest China
HABITAT Dry scrub and grasslands
HOST PLANTS Various members of Fabaceae, especially Genista spp.
and Spartium spp.
NOTE Caterpillar whose bright colors indicate it is distasteful
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but common

ADULT WINGSPAN
2 ⁄ –3¼ in (74–82 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
1 ⁄ in (40 mm)
APOPESTES SPECTRUM
APOPESTES SPECTRUM
538
(ESPER, 1787)

Apopestes spectrum caterpillars hatch from eggs laid on various
members of the Fabaceae plant family, in particular Spanish
Broom (Spartium junceum). Their elaborate colors make the
caterpillars conspicuous and are a clear warning to would-be
predators to stay away. The larvae are active from late spring
to midsummer, when they pupate. The moths eclose in July
and then go into hibernation, overwintering and emerging the
following spring as temperatures rise. There is one generation
a year, with the moths on the wing in spring.

This species was previously classi ed as Noctua spectrum. It has

been the subject of extensive studies in China, where increasing
numbers of the larvae and adults are resulting in the damage of
nationally important wall murals in caves in the northwest of the
The Apopestes spectrum caterpillar is yellow, country. The clinging action of the prolegs as the caterpillars
white, and black. The head is black and white, move across the surface of the murals is found to damage the
while the body is black with creamy-white dorsal
lines and a broad lateral band of yellow with pigments, as do the acidic droppings of the adult moths.
black spots. There are further broken lines in
white and yellow, and spots edged in white.

Actual size