Eggs and caterpillars

Description:

A clutch of seven football-like eggs was noticed on the edge of a single leaf of the citrus (orange) tree. Instantly, I suspected they belonged to a butterfly, or moth. I watched them daily, hoping to witness them complete their metamorphosis. The first batch of four hairy black and white larvae hatched about six days later. They soon moved to the underside of the leaf for shelter from harsh sunlight and predators. A web of fine silk was spun at the stalk of the leaf where the formed a small cluster. The second batch broke out of the rest three eggs only the following day. They soon joined their brothers below. I kept observing their behaviour and looked out for significant changes. They were gnawing on the leaf slowly, from inside out. The weather had been quite unfavourable for the larvae with steady rain. They never looked good wet. And I hoped they wouldn't be picked by birds that often visited the tree by day or the gecko that stalked by night (that is if the larvae weren't in anyway toxic) Few days later, about four were found a new branch and a single one was seen elsewhere. They had reduced in number. This morning when I checked, they had been drenched in the rain. By evening, ants were already feeding on their dead bodies. They did not survive.