The genus to which this species belongs, Euploea, holds the record in the 'Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia' for having been described (and renamed) the most number of times (namely 47).

The Caterpillars of this species are pale orange or green with several white narrow bands across each segment. The spiracles are black, and there is a white line along the body each side just above the legs. The head is black and white. The Caterpillars have three or four pairs of black fleshy filaments, two pairs on the thorax, and one pair on the last abdominal segment. Some subspecies also have a fourth pair on the first abdominal segment. The Caterpillars can grow to a length of 5 cms. They feed various plants including :

Figwood ( Ficus racemosa, MORACEAE ).

Vanuatu, 1983

The adults are dark brown, with a variable number of white spots. The males have extra pale elliptical marks on the forewings. The butterflies have a wingspan up to 7 cms.

The eggs are pale yellow and shaped like a bullet. They have a height of about 1.5 mms. They are laid singly on young shoots and tendrils of a foodplant.

The species occurs as several races across south-east Asia, from Sri-Lanka to the Pacific Islands, including :

sylvester in northern Queensland.

---

Further reading :

C.E. Meyer, Notes on the life history and variation in adult forms of Euploea sylvester pelor Doubleday (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Danainae), The Australian Entomologist, Volume 24, Part 2 (September 1997), pp. 73-77.

---

previous caterpillar

Australian butterflies

Australian caterpillars

Australian moths

next caterpillar