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Caterpillars reach about 7 mm in length, and their appearance is primarily green with a yellow stripe at the sides and a darker green stripe on the back, and brown or black head usually obscured under the thorax. [6] In captivity, fed on an artificial diet, larvae come in highly variable colours, ranging from white through red to dark purple. [5]
Butterflies and Moths of the World: Generic Names and their Type-species – Natural History Museum; Australian Insect Common Names – Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO, Australia) Ditrysia – Tree of Life Web Project; AustralianButterflies.com – official website of the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary, Kuranda
Caterpillars (/ ˈ k æ t ər p ɪ l ər / KAT-ər-pil-ər) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Symphyta) are commonly called caterpillars as well.
Phreatia crassiuscula, commonly known as the green caterpillar orchid, [2] is a plant in the orchid family and is an epiphyte or lithophyte with three to six fleshy, channelled leaves in a fan-like arrangement. Up to sixty tiny white, cream-coloured or greenish flowers are arranged along a curved flowering stem.
The eggs hatch into caterpillars about 6 days after being laid. Earlier instars are yellow with a black head capsule. [5] After feeding on their hostplant and growing in size, the caterpillars have a light green color. After almost a month of growth, the caterpillars are around 10 mm long (.4 in). [2]
Achaea janata, the castor semi-looper or croton caterpillar, is an erebid moth, the caterpillars of which are termed 'semi-loopers' due to their mode of locomotion. It is found from the Indo-Australian tropics and subtropics, extending south to New Zealand and east through the Pacific archipelagoes to Easter Island. [2]
The caterpillars are voracious eaters but move very little; a small group will defoliate an entire vine. If starved due to overcrowding, the caterpillars may resort to cannibalism. Fleshy spine-like tubercles line the caterpillars' backs, and their bodies are dark red to brown and velvety black.
The tiny caterpillar larvae initially feed internally on the leaves, flowers, or seeds of their host plants. When they emerge to feed externally, they usually construct a protective silken case, discarded and built anew as they grow and molt. The common names of the Coleophoridae refer to this habit.