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Red Rim caterpillar

Biblis hyperia

Description:

A very dramatic caterpillar, which mimics a dead piece of branch, with two huge "horns".

Notes:

Terrible light conditions.

11 Comments

Sergio Monteiro
Sergio Monteiro 11 years ago

Thanks lot, Keith. I've seen that butterfly many times, but I never got to photograph it, because it flies too high (4 to 5 meters), and it never stops. And moreover, it seems to prefer to fly among the trees, and not in open field.

EarlyStages
EarlyStages 11 years ago

This apparently is a less commonly encountered light-colored morph. See also . . .
http://butterfliesofamerica.com/biblis_h...
http://bugguide.net/node/view/6478

KarenL
KarenL 11 years ago

Very interesting! Maybe add to the mimetic animals mission?

Sergio Monteiro
Sergio Monteiro 11 years ago

Keith, the place I went to photograph that day has many species of plants growing together, with branches and leaves overlapping each others. There are small and mid-size bushes and shrubs among trees which are from 3 to 10 meters high. There are also many vines growing between them, mostly passion vines. So, it is hard for a non expert like me to say exactly which leaf a caterpillar feeds on, unless it is doing that in the exact moment I spot it - which was not the case (it could be just moving from one place to other). However, the leaf it was in is that which appears in the photo above. It is lanceolate, elongated, with a waxy appearance (no hairs at all). The margins are straight, without dents or protrusions. It is from a tall shrub (more or less 2 meters), and many of its leaves had bite marks. The photos were taken at the end of a cloudy, dark day, and that's why they aren't very good... I'll send you some more pics directly.

EarlyStages
EarlyStages 11 years ago

Clearly a widespread Biblidini larva, but not the color I usually see. Sérgio, can you please tell or show us anything about the hostplant (vine or shrub, urticating hairs, leaf shape/margin)? Muchas gracias!

Sergio Monteiro
Sergio Monteiro 11 years ago

Thank you Nopayahnah & Atul.

Maria dB
Maria dB 11 years ago

Having seen so many "spiky" caterpillars with vivid colors, this one seems unusual

Atul
Atul 11 years ago

superb stuff!

Sergio Monteiro
Sergio Monteiro 11 years ago

Thanks, Argybee.

Mark Ridgway
Mark Ridgway 11 years ago

That's a nice find. What a weirdy.

ceherzog
ceherzog 11 years ago

Wow! That's a spiky critter. Excellent.

Sergio Monteiro
Spotted by
Sergio Monteiro

Curitiba, PR, Brazil

Spotted on Apr 19, 2012
Submitted on Apr 20, 2012

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