| Latin Name | Observation date | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Amathusia phidippus | March 22 2025 | Buket Alue Puteh, Aceh, Indonesia |
Amathusia phidippus is a species of caterpillar that comes from the nymphalidae family and precisely in the satyrinae subfamily, in some areas this caterpillar is also known by the common name "palmking" because of their tendency to live around palm trees and similar plants, before turning into an elegant butterfly, the caterpillar that I share with you today is a very interesting larval phase to study both in terms of morphology, behavior and their role in ecology.
as you can see where the Amathusia phidippus caterpillar has a unique appearance when compared to other butterfly caterpillars, its body is elongated with a completely green color but there are some species that also have a brown color that resembles leaf veins so that it is very possible for them to camouflage themselves among the leaves, on the head of this caterpillar is equipped with elongated hairs, while in the mouth there is a striking brown color, now this hair has a chemical compound content that will cause irritation if touched, so you need to be careful around them.
One of the uniqueness of Amathusia phidippus caterpillars is their habit of hiding during the day and they are more active from dusk to night, it can be understood that this nocturnal behavior helps them avoid predators such as birds and also predatory insects that are larger than them, during the day Amathusia phidippus caterpillars tend to hide behind the green leaves around them and this behavior is very difficult to detect for anyone, and therefore Amathusia phidippus caterpillars are very rarely preyed upon by predators.
| Camera used | smartphone |
|---|---|
| Lens | - |
| Photography | Amathusia phidippus |
| Location | Buket Alue Puteh |
| Photographer | @lightofhope |
| Link to original | community |
|---|---|
| Link | https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/266888146 |
| Latitude Longitude | Map | |
|---|---|---|
| =5.080479 | =97.46383 | https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=5.0804793232&mlon=97.4638302997 |