Page 69 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Hesperiidae
DISTRIBUTION From western Mexico and extreme southern Texas to Ecuador,
perhaps straying as far south as Bolivia
HABITAT Forest edges, treefall gaps, and second growth in lowland and
foothill, humid and semi-humid forests
HOST PLANTS Citrus spp. and Zanthoxylum spp.
NOTE Shelter-dwelling caterpillar that becomes an extremely

agile adult flier
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but not considered threatened

ADULT WINGSPAN
2⅛–2⁄ in (55–65 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
1⅞–2⅛ in (48–55 mm)
ACHLYODES PALLIDA
PALE SICKLEWING 67

(R. FELDER, 1869)

Pale Sicklewing caterpillars hatch from round, creamy-white
eggs deposited singly on the underside of freshly developing
leaves. All instars are frequently found on cultivated Citrus in,
and around, gardens and readily noticed by their roughly square
leaf shelters. These are made by simply excising a small portion

of leaf from the margin and flipping it onto the upper surface of
the leaf. Larger instars may sew two adjacent leaves together to
form a shallow pocket, and this is usually where pupation occurs.

When threatened, or when their shelter is pried open, larger
larvae often rear back their head and attempt to bite the intruder
with their formidable jaws. Adults of this widespread and
common skipper species are extremely fast and wary fliers.
They frequently visit wet sand, carrion, dung, flowers, and even

laundry hung out to dry. Achlyodes pallida and A. busirus are the
only two species of their genus; other former members have
recently been assigned to Eantis.

Actual size
The Pale Sicklewing caterpillar has a
reddish-brown, heavily granulated, and
heart-shaped head, blackish basally, giving
a masked appearance. The dark bluish-gray
to greenish-gray body is simply patterned
with a series of short, yellow dashes and hatch
marks, forming a line above the spiracles that
runs the length of the body. The skin at the
front and rear is lightly tinged yellow.