SLUG CATERPILLAR MOTH

any of about 500 species of insects constituting the family Eucleidae (also called Limacodidae), order Lepidoptera. They are widely distributed throughout the world but are concentrated in the tropics and are named after their short, fleshy, sluglike caterpillars. In the caterpillars, suckers have replaced the typical larval prolegs, and the larvae seem to glide rather than to crawl. Some larvae are brightly coloured and have stinging hairs capable of causing a rash in human beings who touch them. The caterpillars feed on plants and pupate in oval cocoons hung between leaves. One species, the hag moth (Phobetron pithecium), derives its name from the larva's fleshy appendages, which are covered with brown stinging hairs resembling disheveled or tousled hair. When the caterpillar spins its cocoon the appendages are transferred to the outside of the cocoon, where they serve for protection and camouflage.