Ultramorphology and chaetotaxy insights into the larval defensive adaptations of Fentonia ocypete (Lepidoptera: Notodontidae)

ABSTRACT Larvae of Notodontidae employ diverse antipredator strategies, yet research has largely overlooked early instars. In this study, the ultramorphology and chaetotaxy of first-instar Fentonia ocypete were analysed, yielding new evidence for its defensive adaptations and systematic placement. The first-instar larvae of F. ocypete are peculiar for bearing five pairs of dorsal pigmented protuberances on the prothorax, the first three and the eighth abdominal segments, raised anal prolegs bearing reduced crochets and the heterogenetic setal arrangement on A3–A6. The relationship between larval morphology and defensive strategies is briefly discussed.