Larva of wood white butterfly

Description:

This grey/black caterpillar has white tapering bristles evenly spaced along its body. These hatched about 30 September and are probably in the fourth instar. They are molting about once per week. They should pupate in early December and emerge by Christmas. .

Habitat:

Eggs were collected laid in clusters of 30-60 on mistletoe (Amyema quandang) leaves.

Notes:

I have bred these butterflies from eggs several times. I collected eggs at Pyramid Hill on 30 September as they began hatching http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/902... The life-cycle is impossible to observe in the wild and it is an easy and local species to demonstrate in classrooms. http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/165... http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/163...