He looks like he is now in the fourth instar and has changed color with the even more obvious false eye spots. :) How cool that it has survived and stayed hidden so well, in the exact same spot where I found him before.
Recreating a native habitat has been a dream of mine since I was about 18. It only took me 20 years, but I finally have two acres of land in the country with which to work (and play). My goal is to document the improvements I make to the property: restoring habitat & attracting birds and butterflies in addition to other wildlife.
Monday, July 11, 2011
The Little Guy is Growing Up
After checking out a link from WildlifeGardeners to a buttefly identification site, I was reminded to check on the spicebush swallowtail caterpillar.
He looks like he is now in the fourth instar and has changed color with the even more obvious false eye spots. :) How cool that it has survived and stayed hidden so well, in the exact same spot where I found him before.
He looks like he is now in the fourth instar and has changed color with the even more obvious false eye spots. :) How cool that it has survived and stayed hidden so well, in the exact same spot where I found him before.
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The fun thing about is how they mimic a snake. The illusion of this maybe 3" long insect doesn't sound very convincing until you consider what they're trying to spook. Migratory birds spend their winters down in South America where rather nasty types of vipers live and taking an extra second to see if it's a snake or caterpillar can mean the difference between life and death. For a real treat of snake mimicry google search Hemeroplanes triptolemus.
Hey, there MrILoveTheAnts! :)
I guess an extra second could help a lot. Looking like a snake, or just something much larger than a caterpillar (based on the size of the "eyes") must serve it well in avoiding predation.
Hiding in a folded leaf works very well too, I'd say.
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