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 72 a caterpillar DHJanzen100154.jpg high resolution
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| Syssphinx mexicana (Saturniidae) is a large yellow moth (DHJanzen100157.jpg) that is found from (at least) Veracruz, Mexico to Guanacaste, Costa Rica, occupying a major part of the range of ant-acacias. While the adult moth does not feed, the large caterpillar has just one kind of food plant - ant-acacias (Acacia cornigera and Acacia collinsii for certain). It is an obligate feeder on ant-acacias, a trait that presumably evolved as part of the evolution of its food plant specificity. | ||
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