Castor Semi-Looper

Castor Semi-Looper

Achaea janata

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Bengaluru

In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%

134 Verified sightings at Bengaluru
37 In all 2 parks From 2019 to 2026
December Best month
☀️🌙 Day & Night When it's spotted

About the Castor Semi-Looper

Achaea janata, the castor semi-looper or croton caterpillar, is an erebid moth, the caterpillars of which are termed 'semi-loopers' due to their mode of locomotion. It is found from the Indo-Australian tropics and subtropics, extending south to New Zealand and east through the Pacific archipelagoes to Easter Island. It is a major pest of castor throughout the world.

Its wingspan is about 60–70 mm. The species has a pale reddish-brown body. Forewings with prominent markings. A short sub-basal waved line and an obliquely waved antemedial and excised postmedial lines are present. Postmedial lines are often black suffused inside them. A speck is found at the end of the cell. A diffuse rufous band runs beyond the postmedial line, Hindwings black with medial white band. Three large white spots can be seen on outer margin, with whitish cilia. Ventral side grey suffused. Forewings with an oblique white postmedial band not reaching the costa. Two crenulate medial lines found on each wing.

Eggs are small, spherical with a greenish color. Pupa is whitish green. Larva bluish grey speckled with blue black. Head black striped. Lateral and sub-lateral yellowish bands with intervening... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Daintree National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
2 Springbrook National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Jamshedpur 🇮🇳 India
~30%
2 Bengaluru 🇮🇳 India
~20%
3 Brisbane 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
4 Ahmedabad 🇮🇳 India
~10%
5 Dhaka 🇧🇩 Bangladesh
~10%
6 Chennai 🇮🇳 India
~10%
7 Kolkata 🇮🇳 India
~10%
8 Hyderabad 🇮🇳 India
~10%
9 New Delhi 🇮🇳 India
~10%
10 Pune 🇮🇳 India
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Castor Semi-Looper in Bengaluru?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Castor Semi-Looper sighting in Bengaluru on a given day, based on 134 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 41st most-seen of the 477 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Castor Semi-Looper in Bengaluru?

December

In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Castor Semi-Looper in Bengaluru on a given day, against about 10% in March–May and August–September, the lowest months. That is one of Bengaluru's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain against 150 mm in September.

What time of day is best to see a Castor Semi-Looper?

Between 9 pm and midnight

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Castor Semi-Looper sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.

Is Bengaluru the best place to see a Castor Semi-Looper?

2nd of 17

Of the 17 cities where we can rate Castor Semi-Looper sightings, Bengaluru ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Jamshedpur (India, about 30%).

Which relatives of the Castor Semi-Looper live in Bengaluru?

Same family: Erebidae

The closest relatives of the Castor Semi-Looper that you can see in Bengaluru (family Erebidae, Underwing, Tiger, Tussock, and Allied Moths) are Footman Moth (about 30%), Sandalwood Defoliator (about 20%) and Handmaiden Moth (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Castor Semi-Looper sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Castor Semi-Looper is recorded against all the insects logged in Bengaluru (134 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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