Jute Hairy Caterpillar Moth

The caterpillar has a black head, tufts of black hairs behind this, and similar tufts of yellow hairs on the remaining portion. The adult wingspan is about 23 mm (0.9 in). The wings are a pale brown colour with a pattern of small black specks, and the abdomen is red.

Each female lays up to 1000 eggs on the undersides of leaves in several batches. When these hatch, the larvae at first scrape the under surface of the leaf, but as they grow they feed on the edges of the leaves, giving these a net-like appearance. When sufficiently numerous, they may defoliate the plant. There are a number of natural enemies of these caterpillars, and in the jute crop in India, the braconid wasp Protapanteles obliquae is one of these. The wasp lays its eggs in the first instar caterpillar. By the second or third instar, the wasp larvae are fully grown and thrust their way out through the caterpillar's ventral surface, forming small, woolly, white chrysalises. By this time, the caterpillar is moribund or dead.