Careades plana Warren, 1916
(one synonym: Aiteta plinthophora)
CHLOEPHORINAE ,   NOCTUIDAE

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

(updated 2 March 2009)

Careades plana
(Photo: courtesy of USDA-ARS/CSIRO Australian Biological Control Lab, Indooroopilly, Queensland).

This Caterpillar looks as though it had an arguement with a balloon. The Caterpillar is pale brown with a dark dorsal stripe, and a darker lateral stripe each side, but its first abdominal segment is green, and expanded to be nearly spherical. It also has a brown horn on its tail. It has been found feeding on :

  • Golden Penda ( Xanthostemon chrysanthus, MYRTACEAE ), and
  • Blake Paperbark ( Melaleuca quinquenervia, MYRTACEAE ).

    It pupates in a papery white cocoon on the underside of a leaf of its foodplant.

    Careades plana
    (Photo: courtesy of Invasive Plant Research Laboratory, Fort Lauderdale, Florida).

    The species is being studiedas a possible biological control agent for infestations of Melaleuca in Florida.

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