page_title: Syntomeida epilais
section_title: As a pest
hierarchical_section_title: Syntomeida epilais / As a pest
caption_attribution_description: English: Larvae of the Oleander moth
context_page_description: Syntomeida epilais, the polka-dot wasp moth or oleander moth, is a species of moth thought to be native to the Caribbean. Its larvae feed on the oleander plant. Like most wasp moths, these are day fliers.
  They prefer Neotropic areas, to which they are native. The North American subspecies is S. epilais jucundissima, which is locally common in all areas of Florida, and has been seen as far north as South Carolina, and west to Mississippi and Texas.
context_section_description: The larvae stage of the polka-dot wasp moth, commonly called the oleander caterpillar, is widely known for its gluttonous appetite. The caterpillar feeds in almost any location (excepting California) where its food, the oleander plant, can be found. They are gregarious and can cause damage from minor to severe. It may also feed on devil's potato plants, which are believed to be its native food before the oleander plant was introduced to the Americas by Spanish settlers in the seventeenth century. They also feed on desert rose plants.
caption: Larva
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon PowerShot SD850 IS", "Image Orientation": "0", "Image XResolution": "180", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image YResolution": "180", "Image Software": "Picasa 3.0", "Image DateTime": "2009:01:25 15:20:34", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "214", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "3570", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "7249", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/320", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "80", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2009:01:25 15:20:34", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2009:01:25 15:20:34", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "5", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "133/16", "EXIF ApertureValue": "95/32", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "95/32", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "29/5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1556", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1167", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "Interoperability RelatedImageWidth": "1556", "Interoperability RelatedImageLength": "1167", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "3422", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "43520/3", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "2448000/169", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF ImageUniqueID": "b7d3a0b437680845ddebadf09bc5e807"}