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Oleander Moth caterpillars

Syntomeida epilais

Photo by LivanEscudero
Published on Project Noah
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25.7076, -80.4043

Field Notes

Habitat:

Day flying; caterpillars are common on Oleanders and adults are often found nectaring nearby. Larvae feed on Oleander (Nerium oleander), Desert Rose (Adenium species), Devil's Potato (Echites umbellata) and perhaps other members of the Dogbane Family (Apocynaceae). Adults nectar on flowers, particularly members of the Asteraceae.

Notes:

Did quite a number on my desert roses by the time I noticed them. There were too many and my plants just had a few leaves to begin with. I removed them and pruned my plants. I then relocated them to a park's butterfly garden where they had a substantial amount of oleander growing for this purpose.

Reference Links:

Species Syntomeida epilais - Oleander Moth - Hodges#8284 - BugGuide.Net

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (3)
SukanyaDatta
Yes, it did look like spikes to my eyes. Hope the cats are thriving and will fly soon.
LivanEscudero
Thank you Sukanya, but I'm familiar with these and have seen them on Oleander and the adult moth before. So, I'm fairly confident in my ID. These have tuffs of black bristles, not black spikes as the species you suggest. The Tawny coster cats are very similar to our Gulf Fritillary cats (in the same family) that also eat Passionvines, but we don't have Tawny coster here in Florida, USA.
SukanyaDatta
I think these maybe Tawny coster caterpillars...the ones I had on my Passionflower looked similar.

Spotted for Missions

Mission
Butterflies & Moths of the World
Mission
Florida's Flora & Fauna
Mission
Moths of the World
Photographed
PublishedFebruary 25, 2023

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