Silkmoths and more: Prorifrons tremula

Very little is known about the early stages of the members out of this Central and South American Lappet genus. Have a good look at the pictures below. It probably is going to take a while before you are going to see something like this again. Unfortunately, they had a somewhat difficult start. It took a while before they began to eat and I had to switch the foodplants in an early stage. They should have started immediately on Prunus serotina, but they didn't. I think at that moment the leaves were still too young and soft for the taste of these animals. They did accept Quercus ilex though. So I reared them on oak for a week or two and then when the serotina leaves hardened, I tried again. They prefer cherry over oak, that's for sure. When given the choice, all the larvae moved to Prunus. Growth is slow. It takes them three to four months to become a fully grown, ten/eleven centimeter tall caterpillar. In case you wonder why I wrote 'early stages' under the pictures, it's because I lost count already after the second instar. I honestly have no idea how many times they molted. More then five, but how many exactly? I'm only sure of the first two and the last stage.