The larvae pictured above are the fourth instar of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. The first three instars are bird-dropping mimics. This caterpillar acquires its green color during the fourth instar. The artificial eyespots are on the top of the rearmost thoracic segment.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) Larvae: More Eyespots!
September 27, 2010 by allthingsbiological
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged macrophotography, mimicry, pollinator | 2 Comments
2 Responses
Leave a reply to allthingsbiological Cancel reply
Archives
-
Join 783 other subscribers
Blogroll
Photography Links
Science Competition Links
Writing Links
- ambush bug ant Arizona bees beetle behavior blogging book butterfly collembola equipment firefly fly grasshopper hemiptera humor hymenoptera light macrophotography mantids mimicry moth myriapod odonata pollinator salon scorpion spider strategy wasp
Copyright
Copyright © David M. Stone unless credited otherwise. All photographs on this site are of live, unmanipulated, unconfined individuals unless stated otherwise.
Educational use of the images appearing on this site by teachers, students, and researchers is free of license fees and is strongly encouraged. The image must be attributed to David M. Stone, and online use must be accompanied by a link back to https://thingsbiological.wordpress.com.
Non-profit or scientific use of photos and excerpts is permitted provided proper credit and a link back to this website are given.
If you wish to use my work for commercial purposes or would like to obtain a higher resolution version of an image, please contact me directly.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Blog Stats
- 374,194 hits
Ilive in Canada and i found one in my back yard.. Where do thay come from? And can thay hurt you?
These are easy-going herbivorous caterpillars who move little from the host plant where their mothers laid their eggs.
These caterpillars are completely safe. Feel free to enjoy their presence!