Orange Caterpillar
Orange caterpiller with plue dots observed outdoors in September in El Paso Texas.
Em
El Paso Texas
Tiger Swallowtail Caterpillar
Hi Em,
This is a Tiger Swallowtail Caterpillar.
Ed. Note: Another reader sent in a similar photo, and though it was not posted live, we did respond. We got the following thank you note:
Thank You. I finally was able to Identify him about the time you sent me the answer. I only spent three or so hours searching and fixating on the darn thing, to find out that he(?) is getting ready to pupate. My family had to pry me from the computer so I would eat. LOL. I would have loved to have had the Web when I was a little girl. Good thing I had encyclopedias and a library.
sincerely grateful,
Patricia Neville
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Posted 26 September 2008
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Do you know what this is?
My daughter found this caterpillar (I think) in our driveway this afternoon. It is about 1.5 inches long. I looked on several websites and couldn’t find anything exactly like it. Do you know the species of caterpillar (if that is what it is) this is?
Metropolis, IL (Southern)
Just curious
Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar
Dear Curious
Your photo depicts a Spicebush Swallowtail just prior to metamorphosis. Many typically green caterpillars change colors like brown or orange just before molting into the chrysalis or pupa stage. The false eyespots help protect the tasty caterpillar by fooling predators into thinking the caterpillar is much larger and possibly dangerous. They make the caterpillar look like a snake.
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Posted 23 September 2008
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What kind of animal is this?
Hi,
I would like to know if you people know what kind of animal this is. Country: Guatemala. Region: Petén. City: Tikal. Size: 6-7 centimers. We touched the animal with a wooden stick and then it made some attack move or something. His tongue came out like some sort of snake. The movie were it can be seen is over here: http://jasperstevens.nl/mexico/beest.mov Thanks in advance,
Jasper Stevens
The Netherlands
hi Jasper,
This is some species of Swallowtail Butterfly Caterpillar, probably in the genus Papilio. The tongue you describe is a scent gland known as an osmetrium. We will try to identify the species of this pretty caterpillar.
Update:
Caterpillar Identifications
Thu, Dec 18, 2008 at 8:57 PM
Hello again, Daniel.
a few other IDs and correction.
Yes, this wandering prepupa (compare its faded coloration to this caterpillar still feeding on an avocado leaf: http://www.flickr.com/photos/missingchandra/76362584/ ) will soon metamorphose into one of the 11 or so butterflies in the ” Pyrrhosticta ” group of Papilio swallowtails — P. cleotas ,P. garamas ,P. victorinus , etc.
I hope the above information is helpful.
Best wishes,
Keith Wolfe
aka “EarlyStages”
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Posted 24 July 2008
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caterpillars? in Florida
We live in Orlando, Florida and my husband found these caterpillars (?) on our Key Lime Tree. Can you tell us what kind they are? They had amazing long red forked tongues. We are a crowd of bug lovers but we have never seen these and they made us a bit nervous with the long forked tongue. Thank you for any information.
Andrea K
Hi Andrea,
These are Giant Swallowtail Caterpillars, Papilio cresphontes. It is widely accepted that they mimic bird droppings to avoid getting eaten. The red forked “tongue” is a scent organ knows as the Osmetrium. Giant Swallowtail Caterpillars are harmless and develop into beautiful butterflies..
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Posted 29 June 2008
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unknown caterpillar
I found this while clearing out a place on our acreage in town. We live on the Texas Coast in the coastal plains, in Calhoun County. There were three of them on a Chinese Tallow branch that I trimmed. I couldn’t find any damaged leaves around them, so they may have just been on the move. I found them on my oleander plant this morning, just “chillin.” Other plants nearby where I found them – dewberry, lantana, Texas persimmon, poison ivy (I didn’t get into that, don’t worry!) Mustang grapevine, tickseed, thistle, wild chives. We have more but they are much farther away from the spot. Hope you can help – my son and I are very curious. I couldn’t find them on BugGuide or What’s That Bug. Thanks -
Michelle
Hi Michelle,
Searching our archives at What’s That Bug?, as well as searching the archives of our favorite identification site BugGuide (and BugGuide is way more organized than we are), can be a daunting task if you don’t know exactly what you are searching for. Both of our sites have numerous images of your species, the Pipevine Swallowtail Caterpillar, Battus philenor. Interestingly, none of the plants you mention are host plants for the caterpillar. According to BugGuide: “Larvae feed on Aristolochia species. These include ‘Pipevine’ or ‘Dutchman’s Pipe’, Aristolochia species ( tomentosa, durior, reticulata, californica ), as well as Virginia Snakeroot, Aristolochia serpentaria. Larvae presumably take up toxic secondary compounds from their hostplant.” Your photo indicates this is probably the final instar for the caterpillar and it is getting ready to metamorphose into a chrysalis. If that is true, the caterpillars might be wandering away from the plant that they were eating in search of the perfect location for pupation.
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Posted 13 April 2008
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Osmeterium Down Under
Hello Mr Bugman,
My kids found this fellow on our lemon tree, just north of Brisbane, in Queensland, Australia. When I went to pick it up, the bright pink protuberances gave me such a fright that I nearly dropped it! The smell was more floral than offensive but took ages to wash off, and we were fascinated by the aggression with which this rather large caterpillar fought against contact. Of course, we went searching on the net, and learned about the osmeterium, but couldn’t quite identify the caterpillar. It looks somewhat like your US species of swallowtails or is it some type of moth? I thoroughly enjoyed your beautiful website.
Kamara
Hi Kamara,
It is surprising that once armed with a powerful vocabulary word like osmeterium, that you were unable to properly identify this Orchard Swallowtail Caterpillar, Papilio aegeus, which is sometimes called the Large Citrus Butterfly or just Orchard Butterfly.
Unknown Swallowtail Butterfly from “Only Eddie Knows Where” is a Common Mormon
(02/09/2008) Please help to identify this butterfly
Hi there,
I managed to keep 3 caterpillars that were destroying my curry leaf plant & one of them transformed into this beautiful butterfly. Attached is the shot of the butterfly that I took before I set it off free. Please can you help identify this species of butterfly? Thanks a lot for your help. Cheers,
Eddie
Hi Eddie,
The best we can do without a location of origin is a Swallowtail Butterfly in the family Papilio.
Oh I’m so sorry Daniel…..I’m from Singapore. Appreciate your help. Cheers,
Eddie
That was a big help Eddie. Your butterfly is a Common Mormon, Papilio polytes romulus. We are thrilled that our search led us to a Butterflies of Singapore website.
Hi Daniel,
You & Lisa are the greatest 
Thanks for everything & also leading me to the Butterflies of Singapore website. Never knew it existed. If you need photos of the Common Mormon in the caterpillar & chrysalis stages, I will be glad to forward them to you for your “What’s that bug?” website. Thanks once again & keep up the good work.
Eddie
Wow Eddie,
We couldn’t have hoped for better photos. Thanks for creating this awesome metamorphosis documentation of the Common Mormon from Singapore for our site. Your photos demonstrate two significant characteristics of the genus Papilio. First, the caterpillar photo shows the Osmeterium or scent gland. Caterpillars in the genus Papilio possess a hidden scent gland that is often brightly colored and forked in shape. It is hidden and only appears when the caterpillar is threatened. Your chrysalis photo shows the silken girdle that keeps the pupa upright, another characteristic of the genus Papilio.
Please help to identify this butterfly
Hi there,
I managed to keep 3 caterpillars that were destroying my curry leaf plant & one of them transformed into this beautiful butterfly. Attached is the shot of the butterfly that I took before I set it off free. Please can you help identify this species of butterfly? Thanks a lot for your help. Cheers,
Eddie
Hi Eddie,
The best we can do without a location of origin is a Swallowtail Butterfly in the family Papilio.
Oh I’m so sorry Daniel…..I’m from Singapore. Appreciate your help. Cheers,
Eddie
That was a big help Eddie. Your butterfly is a Common Mormon, Papilio polytes romulus. We are thrilled that our search led us to a Butterflies of Singapore website.
Hi Daniel,
You & Lisa are the greatest Thanks for everything & also leading me to the Butterflies of Singapore website. Never knew it existed. If you need photos of the Common Mormon in the caterpillar & chrysalis stages, I will be glad to forward them to you for your “What’s that bug?” website. Thanks once again & keep up the good work.
Eddie
Wow Eddie,
We couldn’t have hoped for better photos. Thanks for creating this awesome metamorphosis documentation of the Common Mormon from Singapore for our site. Your photos demonstrate two significant characteristics of the genus Papilio. First, the caterpillar photo shows the Osmeterium or scent gland. Caterpillars in the genus Papilio possess a hidden scent gland that is often brightly colored and forked in shape. It is hidden and only appears when the caterpillar is threatened. Your chrysalis photo shows the silken girdle that keeps the pupa upright, another characteristic of the genus Papilio.
swallowtail
I think this is some type of swallowtail. I found it in Shenandoah National Park. Could you identify it for me? I plan on printing out a poster of it. I also thought you could post it cause I thought it was a very good pic. Thanks,
Brady
Hi Brady,
This is a Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar and it should make a lovely poster.
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Posted 18 November 2007
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what is this?
We found this in a tree next to our house, in cool, rainy Washington state. What is it???? We have never seen anything like it. Thanks,
The Dennis family
Dear Dennis Family,
This is a Western Tiger Swallowtail Caterpillar. You might have seen the adult butterflies which are showy large black and yellow striped butterflies.
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Posted 05 October 2007
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Cool catepillar
Here is picture of a catepillar with eyes and a goatee I found crawling across my driveway in northeast Texas (Texarkana). The ‘goatee’ is actually not hairy but the bottom of its mouth — just looks like a goatee in the picture. It looks similar to a few on your site but not quite like any of them. I’ve never seen one before — any idea what it is?? You can use the pictures if you want — I enjoyed looking through your site.
Michael
Hi Michael,
We have 11 Caterpillar pages on our site and several images of your species, the Spicebush Swallowtail, Papilio troilus.
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Posted 02 October 2007
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