flying

Sunday, June 22, 2008
black swallowtail caterpillar on the yarrow | Permalink

black swallowtail caterpillar on the yarrow

I confess to manipulating this shot. We found half a dozen of these caterpillars in the herb bed, in the fennel next to the yarrow. I wanted to see that chartreuse in a bed of hot pink, so Mr. Flying moved this one about six inches. (He's back in the fennel now.)

The swallowtail butterfly I posted a week ago might have laid the egg for this little critter. There are over 500 species of swallowtail butterflies, and they only live a few weeks.

Wiki says: 'Swallowtails differ from all other butterflies in a number of anatomical traits. Most notably, their caterpillars possess a unique organ behind their heads, called the osmeterium. Normally hidden, this forked structure can be everted when the caterpillar is threatened, and emits smelly secretions containing terpenes.' When Mr. Flying picked up this guy to move him to the yarrow, the caterpillar secreted that unique organ, and it was ORANGE - looked like alien feelers! Mr. Flying was pretty startled let me tell you. Sorry I don't have my own shot of that strange organ to show you, but there is a photo in the link in 'osmeterium' above.

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Category: Nature, Animals, Flowers, Macro, Color