Bunaea alcinoe
330-600 rub.

Bunaea alcinoe(Bunaea alcinoe)

Phylum —arthropoda
Class —insecta
Order —lepidoptera
Family —saturniidae

Genus –bunaea

Appearance

Newborn caterpillars are red, then they turn brown. The older caterpillars are velvety black with red rounded spots on the sides of the body. The back and sides are covered with thick black and white spines.

The wingspan of these butterflies is up to 24 cm. The body of the butterfly is covered with hair. Males have feathery antennae. The butterflies are red-brown, with a lighter broad stripe along the lower edge of the wings. There are large eyes on the hind wings.

Habitat

It lives in Africa.

Behavior

Bunaeaalcinoeis nocturnal. The scales of these butterflies resonate at the frequencies used by bats for hunting and, as a result, the wings absorb the probing ultrasonic waves coming from the bats, reducing backscattering and hiding the butterfly from detection.

Reproduction

For their reproduction you need a terrarium with a size of 50 x 50 x 70 cm. The female lays eggs in groups on the lower part of the leaf of the forage plant. The eggs are white, round.Incubation duration is 14-23 days at 50-70% humidity and room temperature.

The caterpillars feed on the leaves of privet and ivy Hedera helix.Forage plants should be replaced every 3-4 days.The caterpillars should be kept in containers with a mesh lid of 6-8 pieces.In the container, you need to place a branch of the forage plant.It must be kept at room temperature with thehumidity level of 50-60%.The caterpillar develops for 6 weeks. The coconut substrate for the older caterpillars should be put on the bottom of the container with a layer of 8-10 cm. The caterpillar makes a cocoon underground.

The butterfly leaves the pupa after 4-6 weeks.

In captivity

The mesh cage with a size of 50 × 50 × 70 mm is suitable for keeping butterflies. Room temperature is necessary.Adult butterflies of this species do not feed and survive due to supplies accumulated during the larval period.