Euchromia polymena

Euchromia polymena (Linnaeus, 1758)
(one synonym : Euchromia elegantissima Wallengren, 1861)
EUCHROMIINI, CTENUCHINI, ARCTIINAE, EREBIDAE, NOCTUOIDEA

Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

(Photo: courtesy of H. Satish, Vishakapatnam, India)

These Caterpillars are orange with bands of black and brown hairs all over the body, including a long tuft pointing backwards on the tail, and two long tufts on the thorax pointing diagonally forwards. The caterpillars have been found feeding on :

Ipomoea species ( CONVOLVULACEAE ).

The caterpillars live in groups until the last instar which is solitary.

The adult moths have black wings with three large orange patches and two small blue marks on each forewing, a blue head, scarlet prothorax, and bands of blue and of scarlet on the abdomen .

The eggs are shiny pale yellow spheres, and laid in groups under a leaf of a foodplant.

The species is found in south-east Asia, including:

as well as in Australia in

Western Australia, and

Northern Territory.

Further reading :

Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press, 1990, p. 438.

Carl Linnaeus,
Insecta Lepidoptera,
Systema Naturae,
Edition 10, Volume 1 (1760), Class 5, Part 3, p. 494, No. 35.