Their grayish orange body has a broken black stripe running along the length of each side. There are four white spots on the head of this caterpillar and white spots on the sides of the abdominal legs. A hump located on the back of the caterpillar towards the rear, has two bright red-orange spots. Larvae can be mistaken for that of the guava moth, Anua indiscriminata. Each larval stage lasts about 2 days except for the last stage that lasts for about 4 days.
Mature larvae build cocoons on or off the plant.
When caterpillars drop to the ground before spinning their cocoon, the silken threads become covered with loose particles of soil and litter. Cocoons found under fallen leaves and debris appear as clumps of soil. Caterpillars that remain on the plant to pupate spin their cocoon within a folded leaf. These cocoons have the appearance of a dead, shrunken leaf. The forewings are brownish-gray and the hindwings gray with a bright spot of black and white near the tips.