Megalopyge or Podalia sp, Pantiacolla, Rio Alto Madre de Dios, Peru – Adrian Hoskins

Introduction

There are about 220 species in the family Megalopygidae, the vast majority of which are found in the neotropics, with a few representatives in North America and Africa.Virtually all the species have bizarre and often very beautiful caterpillars, but the adult moths are by comparison extremely dull, generally being blackish or ochreous in colour.

Habitats

The illustrated caterpillar was found on palm leaves in a glade in primary forest at 400m on the Rio Madre de Dios in Peru.

Lifecycle

The extraordinary looking object illustrated above at first appears to be a downy seed or nut, but is actually the fully grown caterpillar of a Flannel moth. It’s tempting to handle this furry creature but to do so would be unwise. Hidden beneath the soft hairs are poisonous spines which pierce the skin and can cause an extreme allergic reaction resulting in rashes, blisters, inflammation, and breathing difficulty.

Adult

Adults of Megalopygidae are generally sombre in colour, although there are a few exceptions with yellow wings or red abdomens. Their wings are small in relation to their wide muscular thorax and long furry abdomen. The antennae are pectinate and conspicuous – some genera such as Norape and Aithorape have orange or bright red antennae contrasting with pure white wings. The adult illustrated below is a species from Brazil, Megalopyge albicollis. The caterpillar illustrated above may not necessarily be the same species.

Megalopyge albicollis, Rio Cristalino, Mato Grosso, Brazil

Unidentified moth larva, Rio Claro, Colombia – Adrian Hoskins

Introduction

To be completed.

Habitats

This larva was found in rainforest at an elevation of 300m.

Lifecycle

To be completed.

Adult

To be completed.

Danaus plexippus – final instar larva, Santa Fe de Antioquoia, Colombia – Adrian Hoskins

Introduction

The Monarch is the most famous migrant in the butterfly world. Its powers of migration are so great that it has been able to spread to across the Americas from Canada to Peru; across the Atlantic to Europe, Africa and India; and across the Pacific to Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. A detailed discussion of its migratory behaviour can be found on the Monarch migration page.

The Monarch has established 5 non-migratory subspecies in the neotropical region – portoricensis in Puerto Rico; leucogyne on the Virgin Islands; megalippe in Cuba, the Bahamas and the Caymans; tobagi on Tobago, and nigrippus in the Andes.

Danaus plexippus nigrippus is found on both sides of the Andes from Colombia to central Peru.

Habitats

In Ecuador the butterfly is mainly associated with severely disturbed areas of mid-elevation forest in the western Andes. In Peru I have found it mainly in valleys and gorges in the eastern Andes.

Lifecycle

The straw-coloured egg is barrel-shaped, with vertical keels, each of which is linked by numerous small horizontal ridges. It is laid singly on the underside of Asclepias leaves, and also occasionally on Calotropis ( Apocynaceae ). The mature larva is white, with each segment marked with narrow black and yellow bands. The 2nd thoracic segment and 8th abdominal segment each bear a pair of black whip-like protuberances. The larval foodplants contain toxins which can induce cardiac arrest in small vertebrates. The toxins are sequestered by the larvae and inherited by the adult butterflies which utilize them for defence against insectivorous birds and reptiles. The pale green chrysalis is plump and barrel-shaped, with the abdominal segments compressed. At its widest point there is a narrow abdominal band studded with yellow and black dots. It is suspended by a stout cremaster from stems on or near the foodplants.

Danaus plexippus – North American subspecies plexippus – Frank Model

Adult behaviour

The butterflies have a powerful but fluttering flight, interspersed with periods of soaring and gliding in wide circles as they fly from one clump of flowers to another. They settle frequently to nectar at Asclepias and other flowers.

Courtship takes place in late morning at which time the male pursues the female in flight, nudging and cajoling her until she settles, typically on a bush, where copulation takes place.

The bodies of all Danaines contain cardenolides derived from the larval foodplants. Any bird eating one is likely to be affected by vomiting, muscular spasms and visual disturbance. Birds are able to learn and remember the patterns and colours of toxic butterflies, so after suffering the unpleasant experience of eating one Monarch they are less likely to attack another. Consequently many other species ( Mullerian mimics ) have evolved similar patterns and colouration which help them evade predation. These mimics include a high number of tiger complex orange and black Ithomiines as well as other Danaines.

Additionally numerous palatable species ( Batesian mimics ) have evolved similar colours and markings which fool birds into believing that they are inedible.

unidentified Limacodidae species, Bobiri, Ghana – Adrian Hoskins

Introduction

To be completed.

Habitats

To be completed.

Lifecycle

To be completed.

Adult

To be completed. 

Sibine argentata, Tatama NP, Colombia – Adrian Hoskins

Introduction

The superfamily Zygaenoidea is represented in the neotropical region by the families Limacodidae, Megalopygidae, Dalceridae, Epipyropidae and Zygaenidae.

The Limacodidae is one of the most interesting of the Lepidopteran families. The adult moths have massive abdomens and huge thick finger-like legs. Freshly emerged adults have a shiny satin-like appearance and often exhibit rich purplish-red tones, but these tend to quickly fade to a dull brown.

The genus Sibine is comprised of 50 species, most of which are neotropical in distribution although one species stimulea has a range that extends into the southern states of the USA.

Sibine argentata is distributed from Panama to Brazil and Peru.

Habitats

This species inhabits subtropical and tropical forest at elevations between about 200-1800m.

Lifecycle

The eggs are thin, flat and transparent. They are laid in clusters on leaves of the foodplants which include a wide variety of trees and shrubs. Limacodid caterpillars are among the most extraordinary insects on the planet. Some, such as Phobetron are bright orange and have extremely long curved lateral protruberances each of which creates the illusion that it is an individual caterpillar rather than an appendage of a single one.

Sibine larvae are bright green with a large purplish ‘saddle’ ringed with white. The thoracic and anal segments are also purplish, and are armed with conical fleshy horns that bear tussocks of stinging hairs which can inflict severe pain. The larvae are flattened and their prolegs are reduced to form small suckers. Being unable to walk normally, they lay down a cushion of lubricant on which they glide slug-like along leaves.

The pupa is formed within a very hard cocoon, which has a circular escape hatch formed along a line of weakness. Prior to emergence the pupa stretches and forces the hatch open to allow the moth to escape.

Adult behaviour

During the daytime the adults rest on tree trunks or branches.

Sibine argentata, Satipo, Peru – Adrian Hoskins

Shag Carpet  Prothysana felderi, Tatama NP, Colombia – Adrian Hoskins

Introduction

The Apatelodidae are a fascinating family of moths found in temperate and tropical habitats from Canada to Bolivia and Brazil. Their larvae, which are popularly known as ‘shag carpet’ caterpillars, are characterised by having thick coats of red or buff coloured ‘hair’ or setae, interwoven with a carpet-like pattern in black and / or white.This species is found from Mexico to Bolivia.

Habitats

Prothysana felderi is found in primary and secondary rainforest and cloudforest habitats at altitudes between about 200-1800m.

Lifecycle

The larva of Prothysana felderi varies in appearance from instar to instar. It also occurs in various colour forms across its geographical range. Some varieties have a buff or olive ground colour, with tussocks of red setae on the thoracic and anal segments, while others are deep red, with ribbons of black or white setae along the backs. The larvae feed on Philodendron, Heliconia, Welfia, Aegifila, Chamaedora, Piptocarpha, Pentaclethra, Piper, Stigmaphyllon, Neea, Lycianthes and Heliocarpus.

Adult

The adults of Apatelodidae are known as ‘head-standing’ moths due to their odd resting posture as illustrated below.

Quentalia roseilinea ( or closely related species ), Satipo, Peru – Adrian Hoskins 

Unidentified moth larva, Aguas Calientes de Machu Picchu, Peru – Adrian Hoskins

Introduction

To be completed.

Habitats

To be completed.

Lifecycle

To be completed.

Adult

To be completed.

Euphobetron aquapennis, French Guiana – Stéphane Brélé

Introduction

One of the most amazing caterpillars on Earth must surely be this species from French Guyana. It has enormous hairy limb-like extensions either side of each body segment, each of which looks like an individual hairy caterpillar !

Habitats

To be completed.

Lifecycle

The larval foodplant is guava Psidium guajava ( Myrtaceae ).

Adult

To be completed.

Automeris liberia, Manu cloudforest, 900m, Peru – Adrian Hoskins

Introduction

The genus Automeris contains about 260 species.Automeris liberia occurs in Ecuador and Peru.

Habitats

This species is found in rainforest and cloudforest habitats at altitudes between about 400-1500m.

Lifecycle

The caterpillars of all moths in the subfamily Hemileucinae have stinging spines. One particular species Lonomia obliqua, has well camouflaged spiked caterpillars which can be found clustered in groups of up to 100 on the trunks of trees in Amazonia. There have been many incidents where people have touched or unwittingly rubbed against groups of these larvae. The effects of a dose from multiple larvae can be very dangerous, including massive intercranial haemorrhaging and kidney failure. 

Lonomia larvae are a frequent cause of death in southern Brazil – 354 people died between 1989 and 2005. The fatality rate is about 1.7% – roughly equivalent to that of rattlesnake bites. Fortunately Automeris larvae are non-lethal, but many can produce a very painful sting.

The larvae of most species when fully grown are bright green, marked laterally with dashes or stripes of red ( or orange ) and white. Along the back and sides are rows of multi-branched stinging spines, each like a miniature Xmas tree.

The larvae of most Automeris species are polyphagous – e.g. the known foodplants of Automeris io include such unrelated pabula as Salix, Quercus, Hibiscus, Azalea, Prunus, Trifolium and Euterpe. When young the larvae feed gregariously, but they gradually disperse and become solitary by the final instar. Automeris liberia is known to feed in the wild on Salix, Quercus and Gleditsia.

Adult

The numerous Automeris species vary in pattern and colouration. Some have yellowish forewings, but most are brown marked with dark post median lines, and when at rest resemble dead leaves. Others have greyish forewings mottled or marbled with darker tones, and provide a convincing camouflage when they are at rest on tree trunks. The hindwings are usually much brighter in colour, being creamy or bright yellow in most species, marked with red or orange. There is always a pair of  prominent false eyes, which vary in size from species to species.

If the moths are disturbed they immediately drop to the ground and uncover their hindwings to reveal the startling eye-spots. At the same time they usually arch their abdomens, and twitch violently, thrusting the hindwings and their eye-spots forward in a series of rhythmical movements. The effect on humans is usually to recoil in shock, and no doubt birds react in a similar manner, and in many cases are so startled or scared that the moths escape being eaten.

Automeris liberia, Ecuador. –  Steve Ife

unidentified moth larva, Wayqecha, Manu cloudforest, 2900m, Peru – Adrian Hoskins

Introduction

To be completed.

Habitats

To be completed.

Lifecycle

To be completed.

Adult

To be completed.