The awesome and impressive female of Pallastica mesoleuca – a giant among Lasiocampidae.
The credit for this rearing goes to my friend Marcel van Bijnen, who kindly provided me these images. When he was traveling through Uganda, he encountered an impressive caterpillar, one that turned out to be of the Lasiocampidae moth Pallastica mesoleuca.
The caterpillar of Pallastica mesoleuca, an impressive beast covered with spines.
Not much at all is known about the biology of this moth. My friend Marcel from the Netherlands has encountered and reared this moth in the wild. This small article illustrates the larva, cocoon and adult female that hatched from it.
The pupa and cocoon of Pallastica mesaleuca, including a leaf of the natural host plant that remains unidentified.
The live female of Pallastica mesoleuca
The larva spinning a thick cocoon inside the container
The adult moth of Pallastica mesoleuca prepared for collection
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