I found this guy/gal resting on a gas plant (dictamnus) leaf this afternoon. I remembered that some caterpillars disguise their appearance to make themselves less attractive to predators. This one looked at first glance like bird droppings. When I googled "caterpillar bird poop", I found photos of swallowtail caterpillars that looked similar to this one. Can anyone confirm or suggest another species?
There are a lot here in the Deep South. They ATE the baby orange tree's leaves last year. Still waiting for first fruits. Maybe next year...
The Butterflies are Beautiful,
but the caterpillars look like dung! They also have red antennas that come out of their heads.
This message was edited Aug 17, 2020 11:22 PM
Hey 1alh1 it looks like a Giant Swallowtail Catapillar
I agree with Jazzpunpkin - it looks like an early instar caterpillar of the eastern giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes)
Here is a photo of the red antennae and the resulting butterfly. You'll see the red near its body. They love fruit trees.
Thanks to all who responded. We have no fruit trees, so the gas plant was a suitable alternative. He must not have felt threatened by me because those red osmeterium never flared out. Perhaps he wasn't old enough? I hope to see the final, beautiful butterfly. We don't have nearly as many of them as we've had in past years.
