Privet Hawk Moth

The Privet Hawk moth (scientific name: Psilogramma menephron) was a mystery for me until the chrysalis hatched. I knew it was some type of hawk moth, but I didn't know exactly which species it was by just looking at the caterpillar. So, I waited for a month until the moth hatched.

Caterpillars

I spotted black droppings near my Parijaat plant, which meant that there were caterpillars somewhere. But I didn't find any. After about a week, I spotted a caterpillar. It was yellow, long, slender, and had a spike or a thorn kind of tail on its rear end. Since It was stuck to the leaf vein, it was not easy to notice. On searching the plant carefully, I found two more caterpillars. 

Hawk moth caterpillar in its early stage.

I didn't get the chance to see the eggs, but the excitement of watching another life cycle from my balcony made me forget about it. 

I watched the caterpillar's growth closely for the next few weeks. It's head got bigger first, and then the rest of the body. From light yellow, it turned green and developed a distinct pattern on its sides. Before the final instar, it sat on the leaf for 2 days and shed the skin of its head to get light white stripes. The caterpillar had a firm grip compared to other caterpillars I have seen so far. 

Since it was the dry season, my Parijaat plant was shedding leaves. I had to get leaves from a Parijaat plant near the basketball court. One morning, I couldn't find it on the leaves, nor anywhere in my balcony. In the afternoon, it crawled out of the gaps between the pots. It had turned purple. I knew it was searching for the perfect soil to dig in and make a cocoon, so I put it in a pot where it dug in about two inches into the soil.

After two days, I dug the soil to check if it had shed the skin and made the chrysalis. In the first few days of the chrysalis, the outer layer is very delicate, and it can easily get punctured. So I waited for two more weeks. After two weeks, I dug the soil and carefully transferred the chrysalis into a shell filled with mud to observe it hatching. 

On the day before it hatched, its wings portion of the chrysalis turned black(as shown below)

Moth stage

Finally, the moment arrived. It crawled out of the chrysalis and pumped its wings. The species and its colors were revealed.

On the following night, it released pheromones to attract the other sex. Next morning- 

And the cycle repeats <3...

Footman moth

Footman moth (Nepita conferta) can be spotted easily due to their unique color pattern. They are bright orange in color and have black patterns on their wings with feather-like antennae. It is commonly found in South Asia--usually in the monsoon season. I was honored to see a part of their life cycle this monsoon, amid the pandemic.

Larvae:

The larva is black in color with few yellow stripes and is covered in fur. it is about 1-2 cm long. Touching them can cause allergic reactions for a few people. They are commonly seen on the walls because they feed on mosses and lichens. 

Footman moth larva

Pupal stage:

The cocoon is very well woven. It is circled by a finely knitted hair shedded by the larva. The outer covering is called its cocoon and the brown shape where the metamorphosis happens is called the pupa. In the center, there is a fine bag where the pupa rests. 

Footman moth cocoon

Footman moth pupa

Moth stage:

The pupal stage lasts for about two weeks. The moth hatches and releases pheromones to attract the male if the hatched moth is a female, and lays eggs on the next day on the cocoon itself. The larvae hatch from the cocoon and spread on the walls in search of lichens. The cycle repeats...

Thank you!

Tussock Moth

Tussock Moths are not as vibrant as other moths, but their larvae look bizarre and it has a peculiar life cycle. The female can't eat or fly because she doesn't have a proboscis and her wings are very tiny. After hatching early in the morning she releases pheromones to attract the male and then lays eggs in the morning. After laying eggs she starves to death in two days.

Scientific name:

Orgyia leucostigma

Larval:

I spotted a weird, furry, caterpillar eating away the apical part of my rose branch. It was a tussock moth larvae. 

Tussock Moth larva

Tussock moth larva

The larvae seem very attractive but their fur can cause rashes if touche; it is a defense mechanism. The larva in the above photo probably moved to a different plant since I couldn't find it one day. 

After a few months, I spotted a similar larva near my building. Obviously, I brought it home to observe closely.

New tussock moth larva

This larva was already in the final instar and in a week It made a cocoon

Pupal stage:

The Tussock moth larva weaves a crafty cocoon with its hair and silk. It first makes a hard base on which it weaves soft silk. 

Tussock moth's cocoon

The moth hatches from the cocoon in 5-6 days, early in the morning. The female is like a sack of eggs; she doesn't have proboscis to feed and her wings are underdeveloped, leaving her unable to fly. 

Female moth

The female moth covers its eggs with a secretion from its abdomen to form a protective layer.

Female tussock moth with laying eggs on cocoon

She lays dozens of eggs and dies hungry. Nature is weird sometimes, just sit back and enjoy it. 

Dead female moth

Egg stage:

The eggs are white in color and are stuck to the cocoon in a dense cluster. The egg stage may last for eight days or months, until next spring.

The larvae hatch in a cluster and munch on the eggshell as well as the cocoon that the mother made. After the larvae finish eating the cocoon they shoot silk threads and move to a plant where they spend their larval stage. 

Larvae hatching

Larvae are almost done with cocoon

It was a total disaster when the larvae started dispersing. I had to catch each one I could spot and put it in a cup with a brush. 

Tussock moth larvae dispersing from the cocoon

Collecting larvae in a cup

Hundreds of larva were released on the host plant. 

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