This morning I noticed that something had been chewing on the leaves of my grapefruit tree, and that there were fresh bird droppings all over it.
Then… the bird poop moved. It raised its head. As I drew closer, it stuck its tongue out at me!
This was something I had read about but never seen: the caterpillar of the Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes), the largest butterfly in the United States. Called “orange dogs” because of their larval habit of feeding on citrus leaves, these beautiful butterflies are found throughout the US and Canada, and as far south as Central America.
The larva, as you can see if you look closely, has eyes on either side of its head and eye spots on its “forehead.” When alarmed, they evert their osmetereum, a specialized reddish organ that emits a foul odor (though I smelled nothing). It has been speculated that the forked nature of the osmetereum might resemble the tongue of a snake, adding another layer of cryptic protection.
A couple of years ago I saved the life of a newly-pupated Giant Swallowtail. You can read about it here.
Great shots. And yes: Ewwwww.
ReplyDeleteThanks. But no "ooooh!"?
ReplyDeleteI have many of these caterpillars on my erstwhile lemon tree. So, I am saving it as a swallowtail nursery.
ReplyDeleteSee? There's always something good in every botanical disaster.
DeleteLovely butterfly! The larva, not so much. Excellent camouflage though!
ReplyDeleteOkay, so the caterpillar isn't warm and cuddly, but it's so clever! And I never had one threaten me with its osmeterum before.
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