Butterflies and Moths of North America

collecting and sharing data about Lepidoptera

Castor semi-looper or Croton caterpillar
Achaea janata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Family: Erebidae
Subfamily:
Identification: The species has a pale reddish-brown body. Forewings with prominent markings. A short sub-basal waved line and an obliquely waved antemedial and excised postmedial lines are present. Postmedial lines are often black suffused inside them. A speck is found at the end of the cell. A diffuse rufous band runs beyond the postmedial line, Hindwings black with medial white band. Three large white spots can be seen on outer margin, with whitish cilia. Ventral side grey suffused. Forewings with an oblique white postmedial band not reaching the costa. Two crenulate medial lines found on each wing.
Wing Span: 6.0-7.0 cm
Life History:
Flight:
Caterpillar Hosts: Excoecaria cochinchinensis (Euphorbiaceae),castor oil plant (Ricinus communis), both Brassica and Ficus species and many more crops like Arachis hypogaea, Citrus, Corchorus, Dalbergia sissoo, Dodonaea viscosa, Euphorbia hirta, Glycine max, Lagenaria siceraria, Punica granatum, Rosa chinensis, Solanum lycopersicum, Tamarindus indica, Theobroma cacao, Vigna mungo and Ziziphus mauritiana.
Adult Food:
Habitat:
Range: Indo-Australian tropics and subtropics, extending south to New Zealand and east through the Pacific archipelagoes to Easter Island.
Conservation:
NCGR:
Management Needs:
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Verified Sightings

Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 verified sightings
Observation date: Dec 05, 1992
Submitted by: Indy Entomologist
Region: Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Apr 03, 2022
  Details

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