Green Slug Caterpillar (Eloasa symphonistis)

Have you ever seen a caterpillar like a miniature watermelon? Meet the Green Slug Caterpillar: appetizing to look at, it is unlikely to be just as pleasant to taste. Pretending to be an immature watermelon no longer than a centimeter in length, it pursues a very specific goal - to scare away hungry birds and live to the point where it can turn into a brown butterfly.

link

The watermelon caterpillar is very sluggish, from time to time it crawls on the legs from one leaf to the next, choosing juicy acacia leaves and Moorish zizifus for everyday meals.

link

Before pupating, the caterpillar-watermelon hides in dense foliage and is covered with a dense brown cocoon, built of silk threads. To give strength to its shelter, it bonds the threads with a substance containing calcium, which secrete from the back of the trunk.

link

After some time, from this solid shell, to make a round hole in the thinnest place, there appears a small tawny butterfly with a wingspan of about three centimeters. On the fore wings of male Eloasa symphonistis, you can see the dark lines, and the wings of females are decorated with narrow white strips.

link

With the best wishes, @gleb-jeglov aka Evgeny

H2
H3
H4
3 columns
2 columns
1 column
Join the conversation now