Diet

• The caterpillars of Hypercompe are generally polyphagous and feed on a wide variety of broad-leaved plants.

• Individual species can use both herbaceous and woody plants, and host-plant use varies considerably within the genus.

Habitat

• The caterpillars occur in a wide variety of habitats, including forests, woodland edges, meadows, grasslands, scrub, riparian vegetation and disturbed areas.

• Because the larvae use such a broad range of host plants, individual species can occupy both natural vegetation and agricultural or urban environments.

• In tropical regions, suitable habitat includes forest edges, secondary vegetation and open areas containing diverse broad-leaved plants.

Description

• The caterpillars are typically robust, densely covered with long hairs and setae, and have the characteristic woolly appearance of many tiger-moth larvae.

• The underlying body colour may be black, reddish, orange or brown, although much of the body is often obscured by the dense covering of hairs.

• Hypercompe scribonia has a black, hairy caterpillar with a reddish-orange to orange underlying body colour.

• Some species have contrasting bands or patches of colour between the hair tufts, producing conspicuous warning patterns.

• When disturbed, some Hypercompe caterpillars curl tightly into a ball, exposing the dense setae and making the larva difficult for predators to grasp.