Page 83 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Hesperiidae
DISTRIBUTION Southern Mexico and the Greater Antilles, south to Paraguay
and northern Argentina
HABITAT Humid and semi-humid clearings, forest borders, and
river margins
HOST PLANTS Citrus spp. and Zanthoxylum spp.
NOTE Widespread and common caterpillar on cultivated Citrus
in gardens
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated

ADULT WINGSPAN
1½–1⅞ in (38–48 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
1½–1¾ in (38–44 mm)
EANTIS THRASO
SOUTHERN SICKLEWING 81

(HÜBNER, [1807])

Southern Sicklewing caterpillars hatch from eggs laid singly,
usually on the underside of very young leaves, but sometimes
wedged between two leaf buds; the females pause only
momentarily, perching above and curling their abdomen down
and under to find a suitable site. Like most species feeding on

plants of family Rutaceae, the larvae consume mainly the young,
new shoots of their host plant, presumably to avoid noxious
chemicals that develop as the leaves mature. When disturbed,
the caterpillars often rear back, occasionally vomiting and trying
to bite the intruder.

All instars build and rest inside leaf shelters constructed out of
host leaves, expelling their frass a distance many times their own
body length with the help of an anal comb. Young larvae excise
a small portion of leaf from the margin to create a shelter “lid,”
folded to the dorsal surface of the leaf. Later instars usually silk
together two overlapping leaf blades. Pupae are attached by
heavy silking to the ventral surface of the shelter. Adults are

fast fliers and frequently take nectar from the flowers of their

larval host plants. Actual size

The Southern Sicklewing caterpillar is lime
green with a large, heart-shaped, yellowish-green
or ivory-colored head. Its only readily apparent
markings are irregular, orange-yellow stripes
running the length of the body just above the
spiracular line. The black mandibles contrast
with the pale head and are partially covered
by a bright white clypeus.