Asota caricae (Fabricius, 1775)
 (one synonym: Psephea alciphron Cramer, 1777)
AGANAINAE,   EREBIDAE,   NOCTUOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Asota caricae
(Photo: courtesy of Kenny Well, Goa, Philippines)

This Caterpillar is black with a pale-yellow edged black stripe along the back, The caterpillar has a rust coloured head, a black thorax, and has long sparse hairs.

Initially the caterpillars are communal, and skeletonize the leaf. Later they separate and feed nocturnally. They feed on the leaves of a tropical Figs (MORACEAE), for example :

  • Opposite-leaved Fig ( Ficus oppositifolia ), and
  • Figwood ( Ficus racemosa ),

    and have reported as pests on

  • Paw paw ( Carica papaya, CARICACEAE ).

    They pupate within a curled leaf of the food plant.

    Asota caricae
    (Photo: courtesy of Chin Fah Shin)

    The adults have yellow fore wings, each with a pale spot near the centre, and some black dots near the base. The hind wings are a deeper yellow, and have a number of black spots. The body is yellow with a black mark on the top of each abdominal segment.

    Asota caricae
    (Photo: courtesy of Graeme Cocks, Townsville, Queensland)

    They are found over much of south-east Asia, including:

  • Borneo,
  • Hong Kong,
  • India,
  • Malaysia,
  • Papua New Guinea,
  • Philippines,
  • Solomons,

    and in tropical north-eastern Australia including

  • Western Australia,
  • Northern Territory, and
  • Queensland.

    Asota caricae
    underside
    (Photo: courtesy of Graeme Cocks, Townsville, Queensland)

    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia,
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, fig. 44.5, p. 441.

    Pieter Cramer,
    Description de Papillons Exotiques,
    Uitlandsche kapellen voorkomende in de drie waereld-deelen,
    Amsterdam Baalde, Volume 2 (1777), p. 58, and also Plate 133, fig. E.

    Johan Christian Fabricius,
    Historiae Natvralis Favtoribvs,
    Systema Entomologiae,
    1775, p. 596, No. 23.

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    (updated 29 July 2025, 4 October 2025)