Trabala Caterpillar Defensive Pose

Last year I found this caterpillar of Trabala Species of Lappet moth at Mangalore.

Lappet moth belongs to family of moths called Lasiocampidae. They are also known as eggars, snout moths. There are over 2000 species worldwide, and probably not all have been named or studied.

Their common name snout moths comes from their unique protruding mouth parts of some species that resemble a large nose. They are called lappet moths due to the decorative skin flaps found on the caterpillar’s prolegs.

Trabala Caterpillar Showing Prolegs

The name eggars comes from the neat egg-shaped cocoons of some species.

Caterpillars of this family are large in size and are most often hairy, especially on their sides. Most have skin flaps on their prolegs and a pair of dorsal glands on their abdomen. They feed on leaves of many different trees and shrubs and often use these same plants to camouflage their cocoons. Some species are called Tent caterpillars due to their habit of living together in nests spun of silk.

Trabala Caterpillar Closeup

As adults, the moths in this family are large bodied with broad wings and may still have the characteristic elongated mouth parts, or have reduced mouth parts and not feed as adults. They are either diurnal or nocturnal. Females lay a large number of eggs which are flat in appearance and either smooth or slightly pitted. In tent caterpillars, the eggs are deposited in masses and covered with a material that hardens in air. Females are generally larger and slower than the males, but the sexes otherwise resemble each other. Moths are typically brown or grey, with hairy legs and bodies.

Almost all stages these caterpillar are poisonous to human beings. Their hair results in urticarial rashes. When your skin brushes against these caterpillars, the spines break off, releasing an irritating fluid that produces an immediate stinging, burning sensation. The numbness and swelling that follow may extend to your whole arm or leg in severe cases. Red blotches may persist for a couple of days, accompanied by a weeping rash. Associated lymph nodes may swell and be tender for 12 to 24 hours. Systemic reactions may include nausea and vomiting.

If one affects you, treat the symptoms. To remove any spines still in the skin, gently stick a piece of adhesive tape to the site and then pull it away. Applying cold compresses can lessen the
pain and swelling. Pain medications and topical corticosteroid creams may help. If the symptoms include systemic reactions consult medical help.

You might be wondering why I am showing you this caterpillar which was an year old. There is a reason wait for my blog tomorrow for next installment of three part series on Lappet moths.

Fatal Attraction

I was trying to test Canon EF 300mm f/4.0 L IS USM which was courteously provided by Shivashankar with my Canon EF 1.4x II Extender when I spotted these mating Common Grass Yellows(Eurema hecabe) on a Peacock Flower (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) plant. On closer inspection there was this dark brown spider stuck on the head of the male. I wanted to capture the whole sequence so I quickly changed to my Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro with Canon MT-24EX macro twin light flash and captured the whole sequence. I have posted 4 most interesting shots from this sequence.

Fatal Attraction

This Adanson’s House Jumper (Hasarius adansoni) had caught hold of the male by the head while in the act of mating. It had killed it and is now proceeding towards the female which was still stuck to the mate.

Fatal Attraction

It was a precarious perch for the spider as it had to manage the dead body of one and struggling butterfly on the other. The female was desperately trying to escape from the clutches of the spider but was unable to do. Spider manage to twist and turn the body of the dead male and lurched forward to reach for the female.

Fatal Attraction

After nearly 15 minutes of struggle the female managed to tire out the spider and gain the upright position. With bit more struggle she was able to release herself from the mate and fly away free and alive. It was such an awesome sight that I was amazed how she managed to do that.

Pill Millipede

This Pill millipede was found when I went to Charmadi Ghats recently. it was crossing the State Highway 64. I picked it up and curled into a nice ball. I left it on the other side and proceeded towards Mudigere in Chikmagalur District. It belongs to genus Arthrosphaera under Sphaerotheriidae family od order Sphaerotheriida.

Pill millipedes make up two orders of millipedes, often grouped together into a single superorder, Oniscomorpha. Pill millipedes are short compared to other millipedes, with only eleven to thirteen body segments, and are capable of rolling into a ball when disturbed. Evolutionary importance of Pill millipedes is that even though the northern and southern hemispherical pill millipedes evolved separately, both developed capability of rolling into a ball when disturbed. This is an example of parallel evolution, rather than homology.

The Order Glomerida is found in the Northern Hemisphere and includes species such as Glomeris marginata, the common European pill millipede. They have from twelve body segments, and lack the defensive repugnatorial glands found on many other millipedes.

The Order Sphaerotheriida is a Gondwana-distribution taxon, with around 100 species in southern Africa, Madagascar, Australasia and south-east Asia. They have thirteen body segments, and possess repugnatorial glands releasing nasty chemicals like rest of the millipede family.