Melanitis leda Linnaeus

Taxonomic position

Insecta: Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae: Melanitini

Common names

Rice horned caterpillar, common evening brown

Habitat / Crop(s) damaged

Paddy, maize, sugarcane, sorghum, bamboo, Digitaria sp., Panicum repens, Pennisetum americanum, etc.

The caterpillar is bright parrot green, flattened, with two horn like processes on the head and two yellow processes in the anal end. The butterfly is dark brown with eye spots on fore and hind wings.

For more details, visit http://ifoundbutterflies.org/427-melanitis/melanitis-leda-dp2.

Pest status

Minor.

Images