Oruga de Palomilla Tersa Sphinx Moth

Description:

A poor Hornworm caterpillar carrying parasitic larvae of maybe a Braconid microgastrinae Wasp. Braconid wasps are very species-specific. The species of wasp that commonly attacks tomato and tobacco hornworms is called Cotesia congregatus.They are mostly internal parasites and they can parasitize most any developmental stage of insects. The female lays her eggs just under the skin of the caterpillar and within days the larvae hatch and start to eat the caterpillar from the inside. After about a week the larvae of the wasp drill a hole in the host’s skin and form a silken white cocoon to pupate in. The cocoons are what you see protruding from the skin. If the caterpillar is still alive at this point, they don’t have much longer. The adult wasps later emerge and fly off to mate and parasitize another caterpillar.

Habitat:

Sub tropical montane forest in Guatemala It feeds on Borreria, Catalpa, Manettia, Spermacoce glabra, Hamelia patens, Hedyotis nigricans, Heimia salicifolia, Psychotria microdon, Psychotria nervosa, Inga vera and Pentas species.These caterpillars can devastate plants in the solanaceae family (tomatoes, tobacco, potatoes, peppers, etc.)

Notes:

When the caterpillar feels threatened, it can retract it’s thorax into it’s abdomen, putting those eyespots in the face of a would-be predator in hopes to intimidate them. They can be green, brown, or gray. After happily snacking on the leaves of pentas, firebush, buttonplant, or other similar woody plants, these caterpillars pupate close to the surface of the soil.