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 5 3rd and 4th instars DHJanzen100599.jpg high resolution
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| Below is a third instar Rothchildia lebeau caterpillar, and above is a fourth instar of the same species. Note that the third instar bears the color pattern of the second instar (DHJanzen100598.jpg), but there has been a radical change in color and aspect during the molt from 3rd to 4th instar. As a first pass hypothesis, the small dark morph with yellow/orange spines (1rst, 2nd, 3rd instar) is a Batesian mimic of one morph of urticating caterpillar in the family Limacodidae, while the green 4th instar, with its red and yellow spines, is a Batesian mimic of a different morph of urticating caterpillar in the family Limacodidae. As the caterpillar grows in size, its mimisis is shifting to match more appropriately-sized models (and see the fifth instar in image DHJanzen100601.jpg below). | ||
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