PSEUDAPHELIA APOLLINARIS

PSEUDAPHELIA  APOLLINARIS(Pseudaphelia apollinaris)

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

Genus –pseudaphelia

Appearance

The caterpillars are smooth, white, with transverse black stripes on the dorsal part. They are orange on the sides and there are black stripes at the bottom. The ventral part is green. There is a small black spike in the tail section.

The wingspan of these butterflies is about 60 mm. The body of the butterfly is covered with hairs. Males have feathery antennae. There are two color options ― white and red. The veins on the wings are brown. Along the edge of the wings is a pattern of gray rings. The edges of the wings are also grey. All wings have orange eyes, edged with a gray line. The underside is more faded. The body is white or reddish with small black dots.

Habitat

Butterflies live in Africa.

Behavior

They show nocturnal activity.

Diet

Adult butterflies of this species do not feed and survive on the supplies accumulated during the larval period.

The caterpillars feed on the leaves of Combretum from the family Combretaceae.

Reproduction

For their reproduction you need a terrarium with a size of 50 x 50 x 70 cm. The female lays eggs in groups of 40-50 pieces on the leaves of the forage plant. Eggs are light yellow and oval. If the newborn caterpillars do not begin to feed on forage plants, they should be placed for 1-2 days in a dark place.Forage plants should be replaced every 3-4 days.It is better to keep the caterpillars inmesh terrariums of 6-8 pieces.In the terrarium, you need to place a branch of a forage plant. The temperature is 22-25^oC. The humidity is 60-70%. The caterpillar pupates in a cocoon. The pupa is brown. The life span of a butterfly is 10 days.

In captivity

The mesh terrarium with a size of 50 × 50 × 70 mm is suitable for keeping butterflies. Room temperature is necessary.