Silkmoths and more: Caio cf chiapasiana

I've been sitting on these pictures for quite some time now. The caterpillars below pupated somewhere in July. Why did I not publish them before? Because I needed to wait for the moths to emerge. This stock is from Bonampak in Chiapas (Mexico), a fact that helps a lot with the identification They were sold as a Paradaemonia, but already from the first instar on it became clear that it was something else. While they went through all the five instars it became more and more obvious that this was actually a Caio species. A Caio species with pure white eggs, without any greenish markings, which immediately excluded other Mexican relatives like Caio witti and richardsoni. They developed rapidly on Tilia x vulgaris and were fully grown within five weeks. When you manage to get stock like this, keep them in well ventilated plastic containers. Start with a small one and change to larger models while your animals grow. I will publish the moths later this week.