Word of the day: laterostigmatal
(The word of the day is taken from the Torre Bueno Glossary of Entomology… usually related to lepidoptera in some way).
laterostigmatal, of or pertaining to the side, immediately above the spiracle
I opened up the book and this was on the first page I saw. At first it seems strange to have such a specific word for that area, but I can see how it would be useful in describing features isolated to that part of the body, like a stripe or a spot. Heck, I might use this in a species description I am working on, since the caterpillar has several lateral stripes, one of which goes right above the spiracles.
The spiracles are openings through which insects breathe, connected directly to tracheae which bring oxygen to the rest of the body. They are usually easy to find on caterpillars – they are present on the first thoracic segment, and abdominal segments A1 through A8. Some may be hidden by hairs or wrinkles on the body, but they are always there.
This photo, by D. Wagner, is of a caterpillar in the family Sphingidae. The spiracles are orange dots, and there are white stripes in what could be called the laterostigmatal area.