Page 583 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Erebidae
DISTRIBUTION Southeastern United States, from the coastal regions of Georgia
into Florida, the Caribbean, Central America, and northern
South America
HABITAT Cultivated landscapes, pinelands, and coastal areas
HOST PLANTS Oleander (Nerium oleander), Devil’s-potato (Echites umbellata),
Rubber Vine (Cryptostegia grandi ora), and Desert Rose

(Adenium obesum)
NOTE Caterpillar that is gregarious in early instars and during pupation
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but common

ADULT WINGSPAN
1 ⁄ in (43 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
1 ⁄ in (40 mm)
SYNTOMEIDA EPILAIS
POLKA-DOT WASP MOTH 581

(WALKER, 1854)

Polka-dot Wasp Moth caterpillars hatch from pale, spherical
eggs laid in clusters of 12 to 75, usually on the underside of
Oleander leaves. Their native host plants are Devil’s-potato
or Rubber Vine, which are now relatively local and rare;
Oleander, introduced from the Mediterranean, has become the
major food source, and the larvae are now considered a pest on
this ornamental plant. Early instars feed gregariously and can
completely defoliate their host plants. Later stages feed solitarily,
but pupation can occur in groups; the pupae are encased in thin
cocoons into which hairs from the caterpillars are woven.

The larvae may be protected from bird predation by their
setae, aposematic coloring, and toxic chemicals. Predatory
stink bugs, parasitic tachinid ies, wasps, and re ants are their

main enemies. The Polka-dot Wasp Moth breeds year-round
in south Florida and the Caribbean but is killed by cold spells in
the northern part of its range, which it recolonizes the following
spring. The species belongs to a fascinating wasp-mimicking
group within the erebid family, which includes many moths
that are diurnal, brightly colored, and sometimes practically
impossible to tell apart from real wasps.

The Polka-dot Wasp Moth caterpillar is orange Actual size
with clumps of black hairs arising from black
tubercles. The hairs on the rst thoracic and last
abdominal segments are longer than those in
the middle of the body. The legs and prolegs are
black, and the head is orange.