Page 76 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Hesperiidae
DISTRIBUTION Northeast India, into Southeast Asia (Malay Peninsula,
the Philippines, Indonesia, and Hong Kong)
HABITAT Forests, parks, and gardens
HOST PLANTS Sche era lurida, Sche era octophylla, Trevesia sundaica,
Embelia garciniaefolia, and Hors eldia spp.
NOTE Caterpillar that unusually resembles the adult in color
and patterning
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but considered uncommon regionally except
where host plants abound

ADULT WINGSPAN
1¾–2 in (45–50 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
2–2⅛ in (50–55mm)
BURARA GOMATA
PALE GREEN AWLET
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(MOORE, 1865)

The Pale Green Awlet caterpillar makes a leaf shelter from the
very early stages by folding a chewed leaf on itself and stitching
it with silk. The larva comes out to feed on adjoining leaves.
By the later stages, a whole leaf is folded in half, and eventually
the mature caterpillar will pupate within this shelter. The pupa
is white with black and yellow markings and is anchored to the
leaf by its tail end and a silken girdle. Eggs are laid in batches,
so collectively the larvae will often defoliate entire branches of
their host plant, leaving just the folded pupal shelters.

This skipper species is one rare example where the caterpillar
resembles the adult in its color scheme and patterning. The
striking adults (bright orange with black-and-white striped
wings and abdomen) usually fly very early or late in the day,

nectaring on flowers, mud-puddling, or resting on the underside
of leaves. As some of the host plants make attractive hedges, the
complete life cycle of Burara gomata can be observed in urban
parks and gardens.

The Pale Green Awlet caterpillar has a distinctive
black, yellow, and white dots-and-dashes pattern.
The head capsule is orange and bears two rows of
four black spots—–“spider eyes.” Three black,
longitudinal lines run dorsally along the thoracic
Actual size segments. Late instar larvae are rotund, with the
abdominal girth nearly double that of the head.