Life cycle images of Daphnis nerii
The caterpillars are light green in colour whose tail has a white tip in earlier instars.
It then slowly develops false eyes below its head.
The caterpillar like Parotis marginata is observed feeding on both varieties of Crape Jasmine - Tabernaemontana divaricata : 'Flore Pleno' & 'Pinwheel'. There are also records of other host plants where they are seen feeding on like Oleander.
Pinwheel Flore Pleno
White spots with blue circles are formed inside a bluish streak on both sides of the body while the eye spot grows little bigger.
The eating pattern in earlier stages...
After a moult, the tail slowly changes into yellow with a black tip and a translucent extension. They also eat the flowers.
Unlike many moths which eat the tender parts of the leaves leaving its veins, the Oleander Hawk moth eats the entire leaf and also the tender stem near the petiole
The old exoskeleton after moulting.
The tail is now stout yellow and the thin black lines grow thicker.
This was done by one caterpillar before the last instar. It was then shifted to a different crape jasmine plant.
It grows upto 10 cms in length before the final instar.
When disturbed or threatened it coils up the head to show the eye spots, probably a gesture to frighten the enemy.
The colour turns rufus and dark in the last instar and it roams for hours to find a suitable place to pupate.
Nerii are known to pupate under leaf litter and above the soil. It makes a shelter covering itself with the dry leaves and attaches them together with silk to prevent ants or other predators from entering.
It takes for the final instar caterpillar over 2 days to pupate after going under the litter.
The pupae turns dark well over a day before eclosing.
The adult emerged after 16days
The adult was seen mating on the day after it eclosed
Food plants: Nerium
odorum Soland., holarrhena-antidysenterica
Wall., Ervatamia heyneana Wall., Vinca rosea
Linn., Tabernaemontana coronaria Willd., and other plants of the family
Apocynaceae.
Habits: In the earlier instars the larva turns the head
round to one side when disturbed, in later instars it bends the
head downwards and puffs out segment 4 so as
to expand the ocelli. The body becomes suffused with brown dorsally
and yellow ventrally before pupation. The pupa is free in
the cocoon, and moves the abdominal segments when
touched. The beautiful moth comes to light freely, and may also
be seen feeding at flowers shortly after dark. Eggs and larvae can be found
at any time of the year in places where the nights are not very cold.
- MOT HS (1937) BY
T. R. D. BELL
AND
F B. SCOTT
T. R. D. BELL
AND
F B. SCOTT
The observation is made during Dec 2016 - Jan 2017 from South India.
All photographs are taken by the author. To use the images / content kindly pm the author or leave a comment.
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